Pet
by Posie Jones
Summary: Wasei, 17 years old, loves piano, adventure and is Kisame's new- pet? No, wait- she refuses to be a pet! An asset at the very least, but not a pet! Language and sexual content, no lemons  I promise .


She sat at the edge of the ocean, feeling the cold, winter sunshine fall down on her pale skin. Her short, wavy, pixy cut white hair drifted aimlessly around her head. She stared into the dark water, feeling her stomach churn at the thought of entering the depths. She wished she could, God she wished she could.

"Wasei! Wasei Hao!" Someone called.

She spun around, tiny, double studded ears perking up at the sound of her name. "Hm?"

Sakura panted, looking harried. "We've got trouble."

Wasei walked through the village, wondering where exactly Sakura had gotten to. She had said only three words before running off towards the town. It was ridiculous, thinking that she was supposed to get the message from _that_..

'Sakura, if you want my help, you're going to have to tell me what you want. I'm no mind reader.'

In her train of thought, she almost plowed into Kiba and Lee, talking in the middle of the street.

"Oh- sorry." Wasei said dazedly.

Lee grinned, flashing her a trademark cheese ball grin. "Not a problem, Wasei. What is going on in your beautiful mind, today?"

Wasei laughed once, feeling her cheeks redden. "Ahaha, I'm looking for Sakura.. She needed my help with something- although I'm not exactly sure what that 'something' is."

Kiba sniffed the air, "She went towards the Hokage." He said, gesturing towards the big tower of a building.

Wasei smiled lightly. "Thanks, guys." She darted off.

"You called, Sakura?"

Sakura turned from Tsunade's desk, "Wasei, _there_ you are! I've been waiting for almost twenty minutes!"

Wasei's face fell. "But- but you only said that you had trouble, and then left me-"

"That's besides the point," Sakura cut her off curtly. "_Anyways_, the Hokage asked me to ask you to go and check out the border to the village. Apparently there's been some sort of minor breach, and we needed you to investigate."

Wasei smiled, standing straighter and nodded. This was possibly her biggest mission to date. She was the weakest of her friends, and certainly the weakest of the class. An exciting mission for her was mundane for all the rest of her classmates, and she was painfully aware of that. Nevertheless, she was going to do her best on this and, maybe, prove her worth to the Hokage, never mind the rest of the village. "I'll get right to it." She ran out the door, and Tsunade and Sakura inwardly sighed. "That girl.." Tsunade mused.

"I don't understand how she's lasted so long as a ninja.." Sakura said, leaning against the desk.

Tsunade spun her pen in her hand. "She's.." She struggled for the right word.

"Innocent?"

"Yes. Frighteningly so.."

Kisame and Itachi walked through the forest, making sure to cover their trail effectively. The ninjas that had been following them for the past few days were finally moving in.

"I'm parched." Kisame said, shifting Samehada from one shoulder to the other, flexing the unused shoulder.

"There's a river over there. Go. And quit whining." Itachi was close to punching Kisame in the face from all his banter and childish complaining.

Kisame flashed a grin, jumping into the river, unsatisfied with just a drink. He sunk under the water, watching small fish dart away from him instantly. He smirked, killing one instantly with a surge of chakra that literally ripped it in half. The blood that billowed out of the limp fish was so gratifying, it never got old.. Kisame breathed out under water, and couldn't help but feel that the fish were like a representation of society. Fleeing off to their families at the sight of him. He couldn't do anything about his blue color or monstrous size, and yet people treated him like he had made a choice, or actually _wanted_ to look like this, for that matter..

He surfaced, shaking his hair dry, and froze. He heard someone, someone small, rushing through the forest rather ineptly, if he said so himself. Kisame and Itachi made eye contact, and instantly Kisame was out of the river, dry, Samehada in hand.

He was most certainly ready for his next kill.

Wasei bounded through the forest, looking out for any signs of the intruders. She could see her breath coming out in tiny white clouds. Green eyes sparkled with concentrated determination. She would _not _ruin this chance.

'Where could they-'

Any coherent thought was cut off by an immense weight that crashed over her. She found herself pinioned beneath an enormous mass of muscle and- blue? So much blue.

She tried to calm herself, to do what Kakashi sensei had taught her, to concentrate her chakra to her hands and push off. It seemed like no more than a flick to him. She shivered, both from fear and the biting cold.

He grinned, exposing a row of white, serrated teeth. "Well well." He taunted.

Wasei bared her teeth in a half-snarl, trying to fight him off. "Get off me, jackass."

He chuckled, amused.

"I like this one, Itachi. She's got spirit."

A dark haired man appeared at his side, presumably Itachi. "We've no time for pet-shopping, Kisame. We must go, they're closing in quickly."

The blue Kisame frowned, his gills

'gills?'

stretching as he did.

"Fine." He looked back to the bemused Wasei, giving her a wicked grin that made her feel strangely uncomfortable.

Something in him was inexplicably drawn to her. He couldn't describe it, he just _had_ to have her. It wasn't really a want, more of a need sort of thing, the way one needs water or food. He needed her. Badly. He would keep an eye on this one.

"We'll be in touch." He hit the side of her head, and everything faded away into the freezing cold grass.

Kisame stood, looking down at the tiny pale thing laying unconscious in the grass. So much for his next kill.

Itachi punched him swiftly across the face, and Kisame turned angrily, ready to tear him apart. "What the hell was that for?" Kisame snarled, grabbing his Samehada.

Itachi's looked at him emotionlessly. "I know exactly what you're thinking, and it will lead to no good."

Kisame's hackles fell a bit, "What do you mean?"

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know that look. You're in love with her, Kisame, and it will destroy you completely."

Kisame was genuinely shocked. He glanced from Itachi's dour face to the small white ghost peacefully sleeping on the ground.

"I- no. No, that's impossible. She's part of the Hidden Leaf. And a shinobi. And- a child, for gods sake." Even as he denied it, the creeping reality set in on him.

Itachi shook his head. "You're lying to yourself. Kill her. Right now. Save yourself the trouble, Kisame, and crush the problem before it arises."

Kisame knelt beside the girl, seeing her tiny body move slowly with every breath she took. On closer inspection, she was actually beautiful, in a serene sort of way. He had to look away, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that Itachi was right. He couldn't afford to become attached to this thing, he needed to kill her quickly and quietly.

He picked her off the ground, turning to Itachi. "I'll be quick."

Itachi watched him go, not believing for a moment that he would be able to kill her.

Kisame sped through the forest, reaching an empty clearing. He pulled Samehada from his shoulder, unwrapping it from its bandages. He tried to close off his mind, knowing that this was unlike him. Any other day, he would be excited about this, he was a criminal, for crying out loud. The Akatsuki wanted him for his bloodthirstiness. So why was this so hard? Kisame looked down at her, trying to make her undesirable, or at least a stranger to him. Actually, she _was_ a stranger. Technically. But- she _felt_ like something more. Kisame had to make a decision, quickly.

Without thinking, he sent Samehada flying through the air, destroying a squirrel resting on a nearby tree, leaving a gory mess over the sword. He glanced at it, thinking it looked convincing enough, and scooped the girl into his arm, fleeing the scene with her, reaching the gates of Konoha. He dropped her, ignoring her moan when she hit the ground. He ran as fast as he could back to Itachi, flashing in front of him like an apparition.

"Finished."

Itachi looked at him, knowing his prediction had been right. "You didn't kill her."

Kisame looked at him oddly. "Yes I did, this is her blood." He flashed the, now red, sword in front of Itachi's face, smiling convincingly.

"Animal blood. I can smell the difference."

Kisame made to protest, but Itachi was already heading in the opposite direction, towards where he had dropped the girl.

Kisame appeared in front of him, frowning deeply. "Itachi, just leave it."

Itachi moved Kisame aside, continuing on. Kisame snarled, slamming Itachi into the tree in front if him. "Listen. This is my one chance, Itachi. You already had yours, and you blew it. You slaughtered your whole fucking family." Itachi's brow twitched, glaring at Kisame, displaying more emotion that he had on the entire trip. Kisame stared straight back at him, too angry to back down. "I haven't gotten my chance yet, and this is it, so don't you dare take this from me, Itachi."

Itachi studied Kisame's face, wondering if he himself was making the right choice. He said nothing, pushing Kisame off of him, and walking towards Konoha.

"Itachi!" Kisame roared, drawing his bloody sword. Itachi raised a hand, and paused. "I'm not going to kill her. We're going to find a place to stay in Konoha."

Kisame came to his side. "Why is that?"

Itachi looked up at him. "Why do you think?"

Kisame watched him continue on, flabbergasted. "Thank you." He muttered, hating how the word sounded on his tongue. He easily caught up to Itachi, and fell silent.

Wasei bolted upright in the hospital bed, reaching out to grab the fleeting figures, to wrestle them down and drag them back to Konoha- her small hand grasped the thin air. Glancing around, she realized she was sitting in the middle of the hospital, under the watch of a, now bewildered, Sakura.

"Wasei, what exactly are you doing?"

Wasei blushed, "I- I almost had them, but they got away.." She mumbled sheepishly.

Sakura looked at her strangely. "Who?"

"Kisame and Itachi, of course."

Sakura blinked. "Y-You mean to tell me that the intruders were Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha? _The _

Kisame and Itachi? How are you still alive?"

It was Wasei's turn to be confused. "I'm not really sure.. They just- left me, I guess.."

Sakura's bemused look fell to a sly grin, "Huh.. Maybe they've taken a liking to our little Wasei, eh?" She joked, prodding Wasei's side.

Wasei grinned, blushing. "Aw, shaddup you." She looked at her hands, wondering how true that statement might be in accordance to Kisame's odd grin.

'We'll be in touch.'…

She felt heat rush to her face at the way he had smiled at her, that sheer predatorial look that had chilled her but guiltily excited her at the same time. Her round head nodded with each breath she took, slim shoulders hunching into themselves.

"Wasei, you know that's terrible for you back."

Her head shot up, and she immediately straightened up. "Ah, sorry. Can I go now? I've got work.."

Sakura gave her a slightly worried smile. "If you think you're up to that. Take one of the hospital blankets, though, it's literally freezing out there."

Wasei smiled gratefully, stepping out of the bed, wrapping the blanket around her.

Sakura watched her leave, wondering how someone like Wasei could survive out in the real world. Beyond the gates of the village. Sakura shook her head, knowing Wasei couldn't.

It was especially busy that night at the bar, and Wasei tried to clear her head, getting the normal pre-show jitters like she did every night. Although she was only seventeen, the bar owners still allowed her to play there, simply because they couldn't find anyone better than she. She finished strapping on the other shoe and walked out confidently to the piano, flouncing down in her curt, yellow dress and sweater. She glanced out at the crowd, relieved to see that none really seemed to notice her entrance. She breathed in and out slowly, lowering her hands and began to play. The second her fingers hit the keys, it was like everything melted away, all that existed was her and the great black piano, with it's resonant melodies.

The hustle and bustle in the bar seemed to die down, the volume dropped to barely a whisper at the sound of the song. It was bittersweet, it dripped out of the piano and pooled in the air around the patrons, leaving a milky silence. Wasei didn't notice, nor did she notice the two men sitting in the back of the bar, one watching her with dangerous intensity, the other impassively sipping at his sake. The larger, staring one watched her play, watched the small fingers tap over the smooth keys, making music like he had never heard.

Wasei opened her eyes, finishing the song, realizing there was absolute silence. She blushed darkly, seeing every pair of eyes on her. Hands sweating, she decided to play something a bit less garish, and fell into a soft jazz piece, trying to divert their attention back to their own lives. She felt a pair of eyes on the side of her face, and glanced out into the audience, seeing an empty booth in the back of the bar. She blinked, surprised, and fell back into her musical piece, feeling the same stomach-knotting nervous feeling she had felt earlier that day when Kisame had held himself over her, like she was some sort of child or- Wasei felt faint at the memory, and pushed it, with great effort, to the back of her mind.

She sat at home, hunched over a cup of green tea, not giving a damn about her posture or what it did to her back, wearing nothing but a loose black t-shirt and thin black pants. She liked the temperature in her house. Cool, but not cold. Two small hands gripped the cup, bringing the warm liquid to her face, letting her eyes flutter shut.

She sighed out, taking another gulp of the tea, thoughts trailing back to the blue skinned Kisame.

Something about him piqued her interest in a bizarre way. She couldn't stop thinking about him, he literally fought against her subconscious, forcing his way into her thoughts and mind. Ever since she was small, she had always been fascinated by the dark and dangerous, walking at night alone, begging for trouble that never came.

'We'll be in touch.'

Wasei shuddered. No matter how interesting that man was, he still frightened her. And his dark-haired partner. He looked eerily similar to Sasuke- Itachi… Cold realization struck her. That had been _the_ Itachi. The famed killer of the Uchiha clan. She realized that she really _had_ been lucky. She should be dead by now-… so why wasn't she? Why on earth had they spared her life? The questions bounced around her head, and she wondered if she would ever have an answer. Wasei slowly let them float out of her mind, desperately wanting to think of something else other than her own near-death experience.

She leaned back in the chair, black t-shirt drifting onto the back of it, exposing a mostly flat chest. She inwardly groaned. The one thing she couldn't stand about herself was her flat chest. She could take the short jokes, she was only five feet tall, and she could handle the constant comparisons to a ghost, in her opinion, they were dead-on (no pun intended), but she couldn't take the fact that her bust was next to nothing. Her loose black shirt pooled about her, like a dark lake.

Lakes.

Wasei felt herself shiver again at the awful thought of water, but her thoughts were cut short by a knocking at the door. She slipped on her red canvas top shoes, shuffling over to the apartment door. "Coming." She called to the other side. She brushed her snowy bangs off her heart-shaped face, touching the two silver studs in her ear, force of habit.

She opened the door, although she really only unlocked it before it was almost ripped off it's hinges by an unimaginable force.

She felt herself fall back, but never hit the ground. Her eyes were level with two black orbs, surrounded by a blue swath. A familiar pressure hit her head, and everything was a milky black.

Kisame held the girl in his hands, feeling her almost non-existent weight. He looked down on her, wanting to take her in. She was small (very small), and slight, like a child. Short, wavy, white, boy cut hair hung off of her face like a small tundra. Two silver studs rested on each tiny ear, outlining a delicate, china doll face in a heart-shaped frame. He felt his heart skip a beat, and was shocked at himself, wondering what had happened to him over the past forty eight hours.

She wore only a loose black shirt and black ninja pants, bandaged at the ankles with green tape, billowing out above the wrapping like a pirate's pants, just below, tiny red canvas shoes. He grinned visibly upon seeing her small chest from beneath the shirt. 'I know where _her_ worries lie..'

Itachi stood in the doorway, shaking his head, having a strong feeling that they were making a mistake.

"Kisame, you should reconsider. What about Leader-Sama? What would he say?"

Kisame turned to him, shifting the girl to one behemoth arm. "What Leader-sama doesn't know wont hurt him. Besides, the base could use a little night music."

Itachi was silent, and turned, shooting off into the night, Kisame close behind with his new prize.

Wasei groaned lightly, and Kisame pet her head, feeling the soft, wavy texture of her hair. "Shh.." He whispered. She sighed and nuzzled her head into the base of his neck, nosing his clavicle. He tried to keep a straight face, secretly loving this.

'This will be fun.'

Wasei felt the first strands of consciousness fall onto her, she inched closer to the rock she was resting against, and felt it surround her, pulling her closer into it's warm center.

'Wait.. Rocks don't-' Wasei looked up, seeing a blue, peacefully resting face inches above hers. She cried out, pushing away, not making any distance at all. A sleepy, black eye opened, boring into her sea-foam green one. He grinned sharp-toothedly at her shocked expression. What looked at her was none other than Kisame.

He released her, letting her spring out of his bed, staring at him from the opposite wall. He laughed deeply, crossing his hands behind his head, reclining on the bed, looking right back at her. Wasei glared, bewildered, at him, realizing he was shirtless, tried to suppress a blush, and failed.

"Like what you see?" Kisame asked, smirking.

Wasei felt a fresh wave of heat crash over her. "I- cut that out, creep."

Kisame grinned at that, rising out of bed, sauntering towards her, scaring the living ghost out of her.. She shivered, realizing she was freezing, wearing the same clothes from her kidnapping (this place did _not_ have the pleasant climate of her home), and just how huge this man was. At least a foot and a half taller than she was, she barely reached his chest muscles.

Muscles.

Shirtless, she realized that he must be at least two hundred pounds, if not more, of pure muscle. He seemed almost inhuman, likely _was_ inhuman, it was terrifying yet amazing at the same time. And- he was actually beautiful. Very beautiful.. His face was blue and gilled, but wonderful, and she felt another wave of embarrassment reach her face. As wide as a doorway, he approached her, towering over her like a human building. Although scared out of her wits, she was strangely beguiled by the dangerously predatorial aura that seemed to emanate from him.

"Cut what out, _kid_?"

Wasei was speechless, feeling her legs beginning to give out. "I-.." She leaned back against the chilling wall, needing support. "You d-don't scare me, no matter how huge you are."

Kisame laughed wholeheartedly, taking a few more steps in, lowering his face to hers, smirking blackly, terribly. "How about now?"

"Yes.." She murmured, the non-sequitur thought of how he could stand being shirtless in a room this cold gusted through her mind.

He chuckled again, giving her some space. Wasei watched him open the dresser and pull out a shirt, pulling it over his anti-gravitational blue hair, sliding two arms through.

She felt oddly drawn to this man, like a moth to a flame, even though he frightened her to her core, and it was all she could do to stay on that wall. "Why did you kidnap me?"

He glanced over, pulling on his headband, a smirk playing on his lips. "Let's get you something to eat."

Wasei blinked. "You didn't answer my question."

Kisame grinned, putting a plate-sized hand on her back, leading her out of his room.

Wasei tried to dig her heels into the ground, "Wait, answer me!"

Kisame smirked, locking eyes with her for a split second before throwing her into his arms and continuing on into the kitchen.

"Put me down, what are you doing? This is no way to treat a lady! You- argh! God-damn giant! Drop me _now!_" She hit his back, and only managed to hurt her own hand.

"Wow Kisame, you brought home a spit-fire, didn't cha?"

Wasei tried to turn to see who had spoken.

"She's got spunk alright." Kisame laughed.

Wasei wriggled, finally put down by Kisame. He placed a huge hand on her shoulder, keeping her in place.

Wasei stopped trying to get away, realizing the effort was futile, and surveyed the room, seeing the motley few before her. An orange masked man sat at the end of a table, a bowl of untouched rice in front of him. Another silver haired man stared back at her, Wasei felt herself flinch back from his violet stare, never taking her eyes off of the enormous scythe he carried. Another blonde haired man looked back at her, the least threatening looking one of all. He smiled, prodding at his block of clay.

"You'll meet them in due time." Kisame murmured, leading her towards the food storage. He sat Wasei at the table, fixing lunch for the two.

Wasei sat, staring down at her hands, shivering slightly from the dank cold, wondering why Kisame wouldn't answer her question. She still couldn't understand why he had brought her here, and it frustrated her to no end. She was past being frightened, she focused all her energy on thinking of an escape plan. Wasei was shocked to feel a pang in her heart at the thought of leaving, followed by thick disgust. Was she really growing attached to this man? No, he wasn't a man, he was a _thing_, a predatorial shark _thing_ that was holding her captive, probably with horrible intentions towards her… Still..

Wasei glanced over at Kisame, seeing the look of calm concentration over his face. She realized that his face was the one thing she had taken for granted. Looking at it now, it really _was_ beautiful, more than she had glimpsed before. Past the gills and shark like eyes, he was actually handsome… Wasei felt her face flush, and looked back down. Somewhere to her left, Kisame smirked before looking back to the task at hand.

An hour later, after a silent meal, she sat on the couch in the main room with Kisame's arm snugly around her. Although she would never admit it to him, she appreciated it for the warmth. Every time she tried to move away, or towards the entrance of the lair, however, his grip would tighten around her, bringing her closer into his chest. At the moment, she feared he would actually crush her against him.

Trying to shift into a comfortable position, a question popped out of her mouth before she could think any better.

"Kisame, you never answered my question. Why did you bring me here?"

"You played beautifully the other night."

Wasei blinked, wondering how he could possibly know she played piano, let alone how she had embarrassed herself the previous night. "I- How- that's not what I'm talking about!" She felt her face flush.

"Such a nice song. Did you write that?" He mused, running a hand down her arm, relishing the surprised reaction she gave. God she was beautiful. Innocent and childish, yes, almost aggravatingly so, but perfect in his eyes.

Wasei pulled away only to get snapped back into him, cheek to chest with him, her face glowed pink. "Answer me, damn it!"

Kisame pretended not to hear her, bringing her with him as he stood.

"We should go to meet Leader-sama now. It's time he knew about you." He started them along at a brisk pace, speeding down the hallway. Wasei had to jog to keep up, feeling more and more agitated each time he dodged the question.

She glanced up at him, deciding to make another attempt to break for it.

"Fire Style: Phoenix jutsu!" She thrust her hands out, patches in the air burst into small flames. Her angry exterior faltered, seeing that yet another attempt at using a jutsu on him had failed. 'Thanks a lot, Sasuke..'

Kisame laughed deeply, only performing hand symbols.

Wasei felt her stomach drop out as she felt something freezing cold crash in around her. Water. Feral panic swept in, and she began to feel the world whirl around her as a sphere of water surrounded her.

"No, No, No wait-!" She was encapsulated in an orb of water.

She tried to scream, but found herself unable to speak. Salty tears mixed in with the fresh water surrounding her, as her mind tottered out of control.

Ever since she was a child, she had been so completely terrified of water, and now this was just too much. Her heart beat out of control as she thrashed around, trying to free herself from this hellish prison, all the while growing stiffer from the ice cold water.

Kisame noticed something off about her actions, aside form the usual attempted escape, there was an unusually large amount of stress emanating from her. He released the jutsu, watching her fall onto the ground coughing and sputtering. She pulled herself up, only to fall against the wall, her body racked with sobs and violent shakes.

Kisame's face fell, realizing something really _was _wrong. He moved to her, discarding her attempts to push him away, and held her, feeling her warm face press into his chest, hiccups making her body shake.

"Don't do that again." She whispered.

"Alright." He said, simultaneously sapping the excess water from her body, drying her off.

He wrapped an arm around her, and she was surprised, through her retreating hysteria, at the amount of comfort she felt from it, but something else lurked there. Love? Lust, even? No, it was nothing more than infatuation and the need for heat.. But good girls always fall for bad boys, right? She shook her head, trying to make sense of it all, but they were already moving towards the Leader's door.

"Leader-sama, I've brought in a new recruit." Kisame said, displaying Wasei for two light purple eyes to see. Wasei felt her blood stop short in her veins, feeling like she was looking into death itself.

"Bring her in." The eyes said in a thick, monotone voice. Wasei shivered again, shrinking back into Kisame's robes. Suppressing a chuckle, he effortlessly moved the two of them forward to the very edge of the leader's desk.

A sigh came from the two eyes.

"Kisame, you don't actually believe that I would fall for this, do you?"

Kisame breathed out, defeated.

"This thing doesn't even weight a hundred pounds wet, how can you expect her to be a S-rank ninja?"

"Actually, I weigh-" Wasei began.

"Shut up." The violet eyes snapped, flicking back to Kisame. "You can dispose of your pet within the hour or be removed from the Akatsuki, it's your choice-"

"Well, Leader-sama, she can play piano, and could clean or cook, maybe she could-"

"Hold on!" Wasei cried. "Wait, you can't just count me out because of my size! That's ridiculous!"

"Wasei, hush-" Kisame hissed, tightening his grip on her shoulder.

"I'll fight as many people as I need to show you that I'm capable! You just see!"

The eyes stared coldly back, analyzing her. They melted into a face, which melted into a body. A tall, though not enough to rival Kisame, man with a shock of orange hair and piercings landscaping his face gazed down on her coldly. "Fine. Fight Kisame, and I may reconsider."

Wasei blinked, another shiver racking her body, realizing the awful mistake she'd made. There was no chance of escape now, why the hell had she spoken up? She might have actually gotten away scot-free if Kisame had been made to let her go.

'Damn..'

Kisame nodded, bowing slightly. "Yes, Leader."

He pulled the two out of the room, standing just outside the door with Wasei in hand.

She stared at the ground, feeling her death approaching at a wickedly fast rate. So this was really how it was going to be? Death by Kisame's hand in combat? Wasei breathed out, feeling doomed.

Kisame lifted her chin with a blue hand. "How are your acting skills?"

"Tobi loves fights!""Shut up, Tobi.""But it's _true_!"

Hidan beat Tobi over the head, effectively silencing him.

Deidara sighed, sitting against the wall. "This is ridiculous, she'll never beat Kisame. Look at her it's a _joke_. She's practically four feet tall."

Wasei looked up at Kisame. He smiled secretively. "Just like we planned, alright?"

Wasei nodded, fire in her eyes. This was her one chance at living, and by God she would take it. What Kisame didn't know, was that she planned on changing up the routine a bit. What had been planned as a staged fight was going to get very real for him. She squared her shoulders, knowing how much rested on this victory.

Kisame started up the jutsu they had agreed on, a simple, earth style technique.

"Earth Style: Stone Tomb!" He drew up the ground to close around Wasei, now nothing but a white sliver through the cracks of the black house. He could hear her from inside the house, already knowing what she was about to do."Fire Style: Phoenix Flower jutsu!" She decided to stick to the plan until the very end. Unfortunately for Kisame, her acting skills were top notch.

After about ten minutes, she could see Kisame beginning to wonder why she hadn't just taken him down like they had planned. Wasei knew it wouldn't be long before he caught on to her. She flicked her hands together "Shadow Style: Smoke House jutsu!"

Kisame's eyes widened, furious that he had been so easily fooled, blinded by this girl and her accidental charm. He rushed towards her, but made contact with only the air. He glanced back at the spectators, seeing their shocked faces, knowing that things could end very badly here. Glimpsing the ghostly image of Wasei flee out the door, he breathed out, giving chase to the tiny white figure. He saw her, speeding through the halls in her deft way, amazingly quick on her tiny, slim legs. The one ninja skill she actually did posses was speed, and she certainly knew how to use it. However, she didn't have Kisame's long legs, or muscles, or seemingly endless supply of chakra.

Wasei ran through the halls, nearing the exit, seeing the ice crystals hanging off the dry underbrush of the forest, smelling the crisp scent of the pines and furs, feeling- two behemoth arms wrap around the front of her, wrestling her into Kisame's room.

"Let go of me!" She cried out, pushing away him, reaching for the receding doorway.

Kisame pushed her to the floor, roughly grabbing her wrists and slamming them down on either side of her head.

Wasei felt the breath rush out of her, and the world seemed to come to a standstill. Shockingly black eyes met soft green ones.

He waited for her breathing to return to normal, watching her closely.

"This is the last time I'll offer to help you, Wasei." He whispered intensely. "After this you're on your own. I'll tell Leader-sama that you felt sick, and fled the battle, but one the condition that you'll quit embarrassing yourself by trying to escape."

Wasei felt a pang of guilt in her heart. He had actually wanted to help her.. If he wanted to kill her, he could have done so already, there were countless opportunities, none of which he had taken. If he wanted sex, this was a perfect time, but instead he offered to help her keep her life, putting his neck on the line- she felt guilty, in spite of herself. Sickeningly guilty.

"I- Yes.. Thank you, Kisame."

He released her, and she sat up, watching him leave. She shivered, missing the warmth, and looked at her slightly bruised wrists, thinking. Why would he even want to help a girl who had gotten him into nothing but trouble lately? Love?

This word seemed to be popping up too much lately..

Love. It was something she had sworn she would never bother with. There were too many other good things to do, like play piano at the bar. Come to think of it, that was what she should be doing at that exact moment. She wondered if the others had noticed her absence yet, although what good would that do? No one knew where the Akatsuki base was, not even a general area of where it might be. She fell back, feeling hapless.

Wasei lay in the huge bed, shivering slightly, wearing the same black shirt and pants, red shoes laying against the opposite wall, next to Kisame's enormous wooden sandals. She felt like Jack in the Giant's house. Everything was huge here. The people, the walls, ceilings, tables, chairs (she had almost killed herself trying to jump down from one earlier), everything. Depression set in when she realized that she really couldn't escape from here, like a mouse in a cat's lair. That was really what this was, wasn't it? One big game of cat and mouse. Did Kisame bring her here just to scare her? Just to feel like the bigger person, to have some power? No, no that wouldn't make any sense. He had power over just about everyone here at the lair.

Why then? Wasei threw her hands over her face, growing more and more upset by the unanswered question.

She felt a hand gently pull her arms off of her face, and opened her eyes. Kisame stood beside the bed, holding a pair of small, but thick, black pants and a green sweater.

Wasei stared up incredulously at him, shocked at the tenderness behind the action. An S- Rank ninja, being gentle? She almost laughed.

"I found these in the storage, they look like they would fit you."

Wasei took the clothes, watching him, waiting for the catch.

"You should change out of those clothes, you'll freeze before mid-night comes." He looked at the wall, appearing to think about something, making a decision, before looking back to her. "Change quickly, I have something to show you."

Wasei looked at Kisame, then down at the clothes, realizing there was only this one room to change in, and flushed pink. He seemed to see her dilemma and spun around, crossing his arms. Wasei stared at him, judging whether or not he would turn around in the middle of her changing. She guessed not, and slipped quietly into the warmer clothes. She pulled the green, wool sweater over her tiny, pale torso, seeing that it was only a little loose, and after tying a string through the pants belt loops, they fit fine as well.

"Kisame, where'd you get these?"

Kisame looked at the clothes, a bloodthirsty grin spreading over his face. "Do you really want to know?"

Wasei felt herself grow faint, shrinking back from the stranger that stood before her. "I- Never mind." She whispered, feeling ill.

The grin faded from his face, and he guided her from the room, heading down into the maze-like halls.

"In this room." He said, opening the door. Wasei stood outside the door, unsure of what was waiting within.

A dead person? A horrible torture chamber? An unnamed creature, waiting for its next meal of human flesh? Oh, the endless possibilities!

Kisame pushed her in, lighting the candle on the wall.

Wasei immediately broke out into a child-like grin. A beautiful, if battered, piano sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by an eclectic mix of other items. It lay silently, dusty, but begging to be played. Wasei looked back to Kisame, white teeth glimmering in a dimly-lit smile. Before she could think better of it, she hugged him tightly, burying her face into his robed chest.

She felt the steady thud of his heart in his ribs, and his arms wrap around her, hugging her back, nearly crushing her ribs. He brushed a hand over her head, smoothing her short white hair, and she sighed contentedly, before realizing what was happening. Her eyes suddenly shot open, and she turned red from the neck up. "I- Sorry."

Kisame smirked, stepping back from her. "Goodnight. When you're through, come back to my room, you'll be sleeping there for the time being." He paused at the door. "And Wasei? Don't try to leave again."

Wasei nodded, edging towards the piano.

Kisame entered the common room, seeing various members of the Akatsuki lounging at the table and couch. Deidara dropped his feet off the chair, smirking haughtily. "Someone has a new playmate, un."

Kisame looked at him humorlessly. "She is not my concubine, Deidara."

He grinned again. "True, she's more like a pet, yeah."

Kisame bottled his rage, walking into the kitchen for a glass of sake. Deidara followed, leaning against the counter next to Kisame. "So, does this mean you two haven't- you know-"

Kisame glared at him, inches away from causing irreversible damage to Deidara's face. "No, we haven't . She is someone who can cook, clean, and-"

An ethereal stream of music floated through the house, causing the two men to stop in their tracks. A deep silence fell over the house, every man in the common room falling into a stone-like quiet, trying to get a better listen to the music that drifted over the threshold.

"What is that?" Hidan asked quietly, barely daring to rise above a whisper.

"It's beautiful.." Tobi whispered.

"We could make a fortune off of that." Kakuzu muttered.

Kisame remained silent, wanting to listen to the rest of the song. It was somewhat similar to the other song she had played the previous night. This one was sweeter, though, more kind.

"That's art, yeah.." Deidara mused to himself.

Konan opened the door to her room, cocking an ear to the lilting string of music coming from down the hall. "What's going on down there?" She asked, eyes containing a hint of rare emotion.

"Wasei.." Kisame breathed.

"Who's Wasei?" Tobi asked.

Kisame breathed in deeply, looking at Deidara. "My 'pet'."

Wasei cracked her knuckles, fingers stiff from the cold. She yawned, feeling the put off exhaustion setting in.

Slowly, she rose, stretching out her back, sore from hunching over the keys for so long. She shuffled out of the room, trying to remember how to get back to the common room from here. She scuffled into main room, seeing the awestruck faces of almost every Akatsuki member, minus the leader and Konan. Wasei felt herself blush, and looked from man to man, trying to figure out what was so shocking about her. Some she had never seen before, and others she recognized, if only slightly. Only Kisame stood out to her, and not just because of his intimidating height.

"Oh, um… hello.." Wasei mumbled, walking through the common room.

The men's heads followed her as she awkwardly walked through the room, watching her tiny hips and curved thighs disappear into Kisame's bedroom. They looked at one another, then at Kisame.

He turned around, raised his eyebrows in an warning expression, and followed Wasei into the room.

They looked back at one another.

"Damn.." Deidara muttered.

Kisame watched the still-red Wasei fiddle with her hands.

"You are very talented." Kisame said, falling onto the bed, crossing his arms behind his head, looking at her.

Wasei pursed her lips. "Were you all listening to me?"

Kisame grinned, watching Wasei grow redder and stare at the ground. "Oh.."

Kisame sat up, resting at the edge of the bed. "Wasei, I need you to be careful here."

She looked up at him, "What do you mean?"

Kisame sighed, running a hand over his face. "Well, there are nine men here, and only two girls, one of which is Leader-sama's." He looked at her, trying to determine whether or not she got his point.

Wasei was trying to figure out what he meant. Surely not-

Kisame sighed, despising having this talk with her. In a split second, he was across the room, standing inches away from her, both hands on the wall on either side of her. Wasei jumped, pressing her back against the wall.

"If I were any other man in this house, I would be having my way with you right now, and there wouldn't be a damn thing you could do about it." Wasei felt herself grow cold, "I-"

Kisame stepped back, letting her breathe, suppressing a smirk at her reaction. "Watch out for yourself, _especially _in this house."

Wasei looked up at him, nodding, trying to regain the ability to speak, or at least coherent thought. He frightened her beyond words, but something about him made her want _more_, it was terrifying. He was predatorial, he was dangerous, but- beguiling, in an odd way. Wasei knew full well of her fascination with the macabre, all she would read were horror or murder novels. Danger had always made her heart beat faster in a wonderful way, she would often go in search of it, but always turned up empty handed, and she couldn't get over the thrills she got when she was around him, the adrenaline that suddenly filled her veins when close to him. He was terrible, and violent, and very, _very_ frightening, but she loved it in a backwards sort of sense.

Kisame fell back onto the bed, suddenly shirtless and cloakless. Wasei heard them hit the floor on the opposite side of the room.

He crossed his arms behind his head, grinning predatorily, blackly at her.

Warning bells went off inside Wasei's head, and common sense urged her to make a run for it, to fight him, ask to sleep somewhere else.

"Maybe I could sleep in my own room?" She tried to smile as convincingly as possible.

He raised an eyebrow. "Would you let yourself sleep in a room alone in my position?"

Wasei bit her lip, shifting to another foot. "Maybe.." She looked back up at him, knowing his response. "Could I sleep with Konan?"

Kisame smirked. "Trust me, kid. You wouldn't want to be in Konan's room at night, unless, of course, you wouldn't mind sharing her bed with Leader."

Wasei blushed, looking back at the opposite wall, glancing once again at Kisame on the bed.

He grinned and patted the empty spot on the bed beside him. Wasei stood, fighting with herself over what to do. On one hand, he seemed to be looking out for her wellbeing, but on the other, he was an S-Ranked criminal, and undoubtedly would be more than capable of lying convincingly. Wasei decided to risk it, and sprinted towards the door. No sooner had her fingers brushed the doorknob had to arms thrown her into a death grip, holding her at least a foot off the floor. She yelped, twisting against his chest. It seemed like this had happened too much today.

Kisame walked them over to the bed and stood her beside it, towering over the top of her. "Care to try it again?"

Wasei stared up at him wondrously. "No.."

Kisame fell into the bed, pulling her down with him. His muscles flexed as she halfheartedly attempted to break free, and she felt her cheeks heat up. This was not how she had planned to end her day. She resigned herself to this, and fell still, resting her red cheek against the hard bicep that lay under her head.

He began to twitch, and held her away from him. "This is coming off."

Wasei felt a whoosh, her hair blew slightly, and her green sweater was sailing over to where his cloak and shirt lie. Instantly, she glanced down, making sure there was something underneath the sweater- her black t-shirt clung to her small form, and she inwardly sighed in relief. She glanced back to Kisame, still holding tight to her, and just barely glimpsed something. Disappointment?

She blinked it away, and tentatively relaxed, realizing just how tired she was. After what had happened today, it was a wonder she was still awake. Still, she was in the same bed as Kisame Hoshigaki, mass-murderer and, apparently, kidnapper of small girls. There was no way in hell she would sleep tonight.. No. Way.. In…-

Kisame felt her body fall limp as she passed out against him, and he looked down at her, drawing her closer. He had held other women against him before, but nothing like this. Nothing this- pure. He supposed that was the perfect word for her. Pure. So, so pure. He rested his chin against her head, relishing the feeling of the thick, white, wavy hair against his skin. White, how fitting. Somewhere past midnight he felt himself doze off, clutching her protectively, afraid to lose his one chance.

Wasei woke slowly, feeling chilled. She realized Kisame was gone, and blushed when she noticed she had been reaching for him. She rolled onto her back, stretching. Although it had been warm, sleeping in a pair of hard arms was somewhat painful. Wasei shivered. She had just slept the night in the arms of Kisame Hoshigaki. How on _earth_ did this happen? How had she fallen asleep? How was she untouched, let alone _alive_? Wasei groaned, just wanting to _leave_, or at least curl up into a ball.. She heard footsteps outside the door, and she froze, wondering if it was Kisame.

Kisame walked through the doors, giving Wasei a dark grin. Wasei looked up at him, sliding out of bed and standing on the other side, sliding on her shoes, ready to fight him off in necessary, although goodness knows how well _that_ would work out for her.

"I told Leader you were the Akatsuki's new maid, which was the deciding factor in your stay. You need to go on and hit the rooms, kid."

Wasei looked down at her feet, feeling the familiar question rise again. "Kisame, why do you keep lying for me?"

Kisame looked over his shoulder at her, picking up his discarded shirt and cloak "I'll get you the cleaning supplies, you should really get started now, since Leader is still on the fence about your survival."

Wasei threw her hands up, frustrated. She dragged them along her face, trying to dispel some of the anger. "Kisame, why the hell don't you just answer my questions? Why did you bring me here? Who the hell do you think you are, treating me like some sort of- pet? Like some sort of plaything! I- I want to _know_! Why wont you tell me?"

Kisame looked at her, sliding the shirt over. "Because you may not like the answer."

Wasei blinked. "What do you mean?"

Kisame smirked, leaving. Wasei groaned, falling back onto his bed. Just when she thought she was getting somewhere.. He reappeared at the door within seconds, obviously not trusting her to herself, yet. He handed her a large bucket of miscellaneous cleaning supplies, and smirked as she leaned with the bucket, it was enormous by her standards.

"Here. These are what you need to get started, and if you need anything else, just call." Wasei nodded, heading towards the door.

"Oh, and Wasei?"

She glanced up, holding the bucket in both arms.

Kisame smirked from the doorframe, leaning against it, arms crossed, staring down at her predatorily. "Don't try anything dumb."

Wasei breathed out, nodding, eyeing the terrifyingly huge muscles that stood out from underneath the shirt.

The odd thing was, she hadn't even contemplated escape. It frightened her.

Wasei dropped the bucket onto the floor, hours later, exhausted.

"Never again…" She moaned, leaning against the wall. She swore she could fall asleep right there.

Running a sore hand over her face, she trudged into the bathroom, forcing herself to wash the cleaning chemicals off her hands. She had been crouched over the damn floor all day, scrubbing away at stains that were never coming out. She glanced into the mirror, drying her hands. She looked exactly how she felt: spent. She breathed in, brushing a lock of textured hair off her pale forehead.

Wasei blinked, trying to remain awake long enough to get to the bed. Unfortunately for her, she failed at that too, and fell against the wall, curling into herself, white head buried into her knees.

'Just for a few minutes..'

Kisame opened the door, wondering where his ward had gotten off to. He grinned humorously, seeing the tiny shape slumped against the wall, fast asleep.

'So much for escaping.' Kisame thought back to the previous day, knowing that escape must be somewhere on her mind still, he had begun to wonder if she had gone for it once more. She looked almost comical, crumpled up like a paper ball on the floor, exhausted. She had actually worked herself to sleep. A surprisingly soft, unfitting smile spread like an ink stain across his face.

He knelt, gingerly pulling her off of the ground, setting her into the bed, underneath the covers, simultaneously taking off her shoes. He pulled off his cloak and shirt and crawled in beside her, clutching her tightly, falling asleep almost immediately, to his shock.

'What's happening to me?'

Wasei woke the same way she had the past two days, pressed into the bare chest of Kisame. Flushing, she pushed away, and, same as ever, was unable to put any distance at all between them.

"Kisame.." She mumbled, attempting to wriggle out of his vice-grip. He held her tighter, and she could tell he was awake and enjoying this.

"Kisame, come on.."

He laughed deeply, letting her roll out of his arms. Wasei glanced over at her bucket of supplies and groaned, knowing exactly what the day held for her. She looked back at him helplessly. "Isn't there any other job that I could do?"

Kisame smirked again. "Not unless you could fight one of us and win." He stood and picked up the bucket.

Wasei knew the chances of that and sighed, taking the bucket. 'Why did I have to turn out as such a weak ninja?'

A thought popped into her head. She was a rather pathetic ninja, there was no disputing it, she hadn't ever gone on a B-Rank mission alone. She was a weakling, and a hell of a lot smaller than anyone she ever knew, and certainly more than any of the Akatsuki members. Which led her to question what Kisame had said the first night she had been here.

"If I were any other man in this house, I would be having my way with you right now, and there wouldn't be a damn thing you could do about it."

'Any _other_ man…' Wasei stood by the bed, directly next to Kisame, staring at the floor. What was stopping him from using her right now? What made him different from any of the other men that would apparently use her the first chance they got? She turned, realizing she was right next to him. She stepped back to see his face.

"Kisame, you said the other night that if you were any other man in the house, that you'd be having your way with me right now."

Kisame stood up straight, looking down on her. "I did."

Wasei raised her eyes to meet his, hefting the bucket to the other hand. "Then what makes you different from all the other men in the house? Why aren't _you_ be having your way with me right now?"

Kisame grinned darkly, crossing his arms. "Would you like me to?"

Wasei accidentally dropped the bucket, feeling her knees almost give out.

"No- I- I'd rather you not."

Kisame roared with laughter, handing her the bucket once more. "You're safe with me, kid."

Wasei stared up at him. "Why?"

Kisame's laughter died out, and he looked serious. "Because I wouldn't do that to you."

"But _why_? Kisame, just start _answering_ me!"

Kisame's expression looked almost sad as he turned to pick up his shirt and cloak. "Wasei, I already told you that you wouldn't like the answer, so stop asking."

Wasei cried out in frustration, grabbing the shirt in his hands, preventing him from donning it. "No. Kisame, I want to know, and I damn-well will _eventually_, so you might as well tell me _now_!"

Wasei stood seething, hand still gripping his shirt as he looked down on her with a stormy face.

"Wasei, look around you. You're a five foot tall, hundred pound kid, who's, let's face it, pretty damn naïve and still a virgin- for gods sake you're a _kid. _A _kid_." He took a step in, driving Wasei back towards the bed,. Cold fear spread in the pit of her stomach, realizing she had made a huge mistake, thinking that she could have possibly trusted him. For goodness sakes, he was a _criminal_! How could she have been so blind? She had most certainly been 'naïve', and now it seemed she would pay a price. He continued, growing harsher and harsher with every word. "You're in a room, alone, where no one could hear you scream, in a house where no one could or would _want_ to help you, with a strange man you've met three days ago, who's twice your size and weight, who could _easily_ overpower you, who kidnapped you and turned out to be an S-Ranked criminal, who's also part of the Akatsuki, and you're questioning him on the reasons he brought you here against his wishes?"

Wasei looked up at him, the anger melting off of her face with every word that came out. "Yes."

Kisame pulled the shirt out of her hands, throwing it over his head. "Not a bright idea, if you ask me."

Wasei stood between him and his cloak without thinking, throwing caution to the wind. She didn't care if she had to pay, she was going to get some damn answers. "But that's not what I'm asking you!" She realized, with shock, that she actually _did_ trust this man, prior to what she had thought before. He wouldn't actually throw her down and take her.. Right? "I-I'm not afraid of you, because- well.. somehow, I trust you, and I know that you would never do something like that! All I want to know is why you brought me here!"

Kisame nudged her aside, pulling the cloak over his shoulders. "An S-Ranked criminal is a brilliant liar, Wasei, it's incredibly foolish of you to trust someone like me. What proof do you have that I meant what I said about not doing whatever I wanted with you?"

Wasei blinked, shrugging her shoulders. "Because you haven't."

Kisame looked at her ferally, dropping his cloak. Wasei felt the world rush out from under her feet as he smashed into her, throwing them back onto the bed. The breath rushed out of her as her back hit the bed, and two hands pressed her shoulders back, pinning her down onto it. Wasei stared up widely at him, and he looked down, bearing a hungry grin.

"No-!"

He kissed her harshly, ignoring the muffled protests.

It hurt him to do this, but he only hoped that this would scare her into having a bit of sense in this house.

Kisame held her down, caging her in, a knee on either side of her waist. She struggled, trying to pull her shoulders out of his hands, but it was absolutely useless, his hands were like iron. Kisame slid his hands up to her face, holding it from moving, keeping his forearms steady on her shoulders, and pushed in closer, trying to reach her breaking point. He didn't want to make her cry, but he wanted to bring her very close to it. At least enough to frighten her of the very real world that she was just now encountering. He would have to put his feelings for her on hold for the time being, her survival in this house mattered more. His hands drifted down from her face to her hips, running along her hip bones, thumbs tracing the top of her pants.

Wasei flinched, suddenly freezing cold, felt like her heart would burst, her insides felt like stew, and her brain seemed to have left her. She wrestled against him, trying her hardest to push him off of her, now that her hands were free, although she might as well have just sat there and let him feel her for all the good it did. What hurt as much as the stinging of the impact, or the roughness of his hands on her, or the harshness of the kiss was the wounded trust she had. She had thought that, out of the rest of the house, that she could trust him more than anyone. She would have said he was different.

Kisame ran a hand through her hair, kissing her harder, lowering himself so that his chest almost touched hers. Yes, he felt horrible about this. Yes, he would have to live with this guilt. Yes, he knew that she was terrified, upset with him, but for just this moment, he would be able to love her freely.

Wasei fell still and shut her eyes tightly, trying to find some way to put herself somewhere else- but the thing was, she really didn't want to. It chilled her, sickened her, but something buried within her was actually… _enjoying_ this.. Her heart began to beat faster and faster, feeling him so close, her stomach felt uneasy in a way that she had never felt before, and, for the first time in her life, she- she _wanted_ someone.

Shocking both Kisame and herself, she kissed back, pushing lightly back against him, resting a hand on his shoulder. Kisame seemed to freeze, baffled. He pulled back, sitting, staring at her wonderingly. Had she just-? Wasei blinked, horrified at what she had just done and felt, and what she had just now realized. She had somehow, in the midst of her kidnapping and life at the base, had fallen in love with him.. With her blue captor. In such a short amount of time, was it possible? She guessed so. Nevertheless, she had just committed a crime against her whole village. She had to leave. Now. Wasei looked at him with a shocked, pink cheeked expression, and took the moment to run to the door, but Kisame remained sitting on the bed, watching her go with unreadable eyes.

Wasei reached the door, and glanced back. "Wasei." Kisame said, standing. "Wait."

She unconsciously stopped, finding herself unable to disobey the Alpha in his voice. "Turn."

She did. It was amazing, Kisame could control her like a puppet if he wanted to.. That tone.. it was like everything said became indisputable. She knew very well he was an Alpha male. And she was also uncomfortably aware of her Beta nature.

"Do you still want to know the reason why I took you? Why I've treated you this way?"

Wasei glanced between the exit and Kisame. She could be home free and leave right now, putting everything behind her, and run back into the arms of those who were waiting for her at home, but she stopped, wanting so badly to know why he had taken her. Her heart was about to tear itself in two. After realizing that she had somehow fallen for her captor, she wanted to stay here with him, to just be beside him- but she had to leave. She had to turn herself in to the village, and that's exactly what she was going to do..

She looked at him, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Kisame slowly began walking towards her.

"Because I need you. When I saw you in the forest, I needed you, and when I saw you at that bar, when you played piano so beautifully, I had to _have_ you."

Wasei backed towards the door, shaking her head, biting her bottom lip. "Kisame, don't, just-"

"Wasei, I took you because I would go insane otherwise." He stood directly in front of her, not daring to touch her. "And yes, it was unfair to you, it was selfish, but- I couldn't stop myself. I need you now, Wasei, and I can't stay sane without you."

Wasei clapped her hands over her ears, shutting her eyes tightly. She felt faint, she couldn't make a decision- "Don't-"

"The only reason I did this was to try and get you to see how vulnerable you are to the rest of this house, Wasei, I tried to get you to fear for yourself, I didn't want you to be so _trusting_, I thought you would be eaten up by the world out there."

Wasei looked up at him, leaning against the door, watching him through watery eyes. Everything seemed to click together now, and everything rushed towards her like a freight train. The reason he had taken her was because he had fallen in love with her, the reason that he had separated himself from the others was because he would actually never do something like that, he was trying to teach her a hard lesson-

"Don't do this." She said shakily, reaching for the doorknob.

Kisame reach out to touch her face. "I'm- Sorry." He pushed the word out. "I need you." He wouldn't use his Alpha tone, he needed her to make a decision by herself. He only hoped that she would stay.

Wasei squeezed her eyes shut, unable to take any more of this.

Kisame watched her dash away, feeling furious that she was running away from him, but even more saddened. There was his one chance at anything good, running out the door, no doubt about to be killed or worse in the woods. He slowly picked up his cloak, sliding it over his shoulders, feeling something heavier than a cloak resting on them. Guilt. A huge amount of guilt rested on his shoulders. He had, no doubt, ruined whatever chance she had at a normal life, or life in general. He turned to the wall, and punched it as hard as he possibly could, punching through wall and rocks, straight into the outside woods.

Wasei stood outside of the lair, trying to gather herself. She could decide whether or not to run, it seemed like an easy decision, but-

She jumped, seeing a giant blue fist punching through the wall of the lair. Wasei blinked, feeling both terrified and upset. She watched the hole, seeing into the room that she had just left. Walking away felt like peeling off a band-aid slowly, and it hurt like hell, but she forced herself to run in the opposite direction, away from everything. It was what she best knew how to do. She broke into a run, and soon sprinted continually through the trees, breathing lightly. Just running, running, running.

Wasei fell onto a boulder, legs burning from moving non-stop. She brought her hands into fists, angry at herself for her inability to run any longer. She had always been the weakest of the bunch, and it did nothing but bother her. She was discouraged from being a ninja, but, in her stubbornness, she had gone through with it, although had never actually achieved any level of success, even after receiving help from Kakashi. She was looked down upon, babied by her group. By everyone. The runt of the litter, needing help, needing easier missions, nothing but _needing_!

She ran a hand through her hair, pulling at the short, tousled locks in agony, fighting tears. And Kisame. He had come into her life so quickly, and changed her so much, just like that. He had shown her a world that had hid deceptively underneath the shadow of the one she had been raised in, the kind, easy, safe life. His was dangerous, wild, lustful… She had been mesmerized, wondering where it had been her whole life, how she had never reached it, after indirectly searching for so long.. She was shocked that it hurt to leave him this much, although she did feel some degree of love for him.

Wasei shook her head, not about to torture herself with this, and headed over towards the sound of water.

She knelt by the stream, fashioning a cup out of a nearby rock, taking small sips after purifying the water with what little chakra she possessed. A voice seemed to resonate from within her: Something wasn't right. Wasei lifted her head cautiously, feeling other's presences, and turned around, seeing, through the thin underbrush, a rather motley band of ninjas in the clearing she had just come from, all heading towards the stream that she now crouched by.

Mind whirling, she wildly looked around, trying to find somewhere to hide, knowing that she couldn't begin to face up to them. She glanced behind her, seeing the stream. She knew that it was probably her best bet at hiding but- no, she couldn't bring herself to overcome that fear, even if it meant death. She began to shake, realizing the gravity of the situation, and wished, more than anything, that Kisame was here.

Wasei glanced from the approaching group to the path out the clearing, judging the chance of her getting to _it _before they got to _her_. Not taking the time to second-guess herself, she just sprinted, running as fast as her short legs could propel her, reaching out for a tree limb that hung just low enough to jump into.

Something heavy struck her over the head, and she sprawled onto the ground, tumbling head over heels.

"Well looky here, we got us a little ghost running around."

A few mutters came from the others as they made their way over her pale form, standing out sharply against the dark forest bed. Her green sweater moved swiftly with each shallow breath she took, and she could feel ripped patches, shockingly cold against her skin. She was terrified.

The one who had spoken earlier picked her up off the floor, setting her on her feet. Wasei flinched back, trying to clear her blurry head. The blow was harder than she had thought.

She examined the men before her, feeling the future grow bleaker and bleaker. All at least six feet tall, muscled, rugged looking. The one closest to her, the one who had spoken, seemed to be the leader. Dark hair and a bandanna, five o'clock shadow, mid twenties, a classic bruiser. Wasei backed up a bit, trying to put as much distance between the two of them as possible. The man grabbed the collar of her shirt, feeling it tear, pulling her in sharply, now nearly nose to nose with her. "Woah woah, where do you think you're goin? We've just gotten acquainted, now." He brushed a bit of hair behind Wasei's ear. "Now, you mind telling me what a pretty lil' thing like you is doin in the woods at this hour?" He grinned, pulling her smooth white face into his, drawn to this girl. He had a thing for the cute ones.

"Let go, please." She said as strongly as she could, trying to pry her collar loose from his metallic grip.

He smiled, throwing her over his shoulder. "Hey now, don't play coy." He began walking towards the stream, and Wasei's heart dropped to her stomach.

"N-No- please-!"

The man raised his eyebrows, noticing her fear for the stream. "Oh, don't tell me the little ghost's afraid of the water? Don't worry, it wont bite. Me, on the other hand, well, we'll just see, wont we?"

He quickened his pace towards the stream, and Wasei began to feel very faint. She gave it everything she had, and thrashed violently in his arms, trying to squirm free. The man laughed lightly, standing directly in front of the stream. "Let's take a dip before the fun begins, eh?" He kissed her deeply, and Wasei pushed him away, feeling disgusted. She needed Kisame.

He dropped her into the surprisingly deep waters, and Wasei's blood-curdling scream was cut short. Wasei thrashed and writhed in the water, feeling the pressure closing in around her, and her thoughts went far back.

A small girl, no more than five, stood by the river. Her chin length, wavy, white hair bobbed up and down at her giggles, the fish in the river were an excellent source of entertainment. She reached in, trying to handle one of her new friends, when gravity played a cruel trick on her. She fell head first into the water, and it sucked her in, churning her over and over in the waves. "Help!" She cried shrilly, trying to grab onto the river bank before getting briskly carried down, bubbling up, then being sucked down once again into the freezing depths. Horrible, primal fear had taken over her, and permanently imprinted itself onto the interior of her mind. She tumbled over and over across the rivers murky, rocky bottom. Alone. Dying. She tried to cry out for her parents, but an onslaught of water drowned out the cry, flooding her lungs. The girl felt reality fading away from her, and began to grow even more afraid before the fear began to fade into leaden exhaustion. She felt herself sink to the bottom, terrified and tired.

A nearby fisherman had dragged her out, shaking and blue-lipped, onto the bank, and had administered CPR. And she had never forgotten it.

Wasei flailed her arms ineffectively, trying to reach the surface. A gruff hand plunged in and brought her up by the arm, choking and sputtering, and she looked into the cruel face of the man who had thrown her in.

"Don't be like that, darlin. Lets go for one more dip." He kissed her once more, releasing her, letting her fall.

Wasei tried to cry out, but was submerged once again, and felt herself floating down to the bottom of the stream, surrounded by the smooth rocks on the bottom. She squeezed her eyes shut, sitting on the bottom, hoping that death would take her before the man did, trying to block out the animalistic fear that was crushing her heart. Her lungs felt like they were being squeezed by a cold hand, and she was suddenly floating out of her body. She fell back onto the rocks, unable to think or reason. A dark shape moved towards her at an incredible speed and enveloped her. It was warm. She dully noted a vague resemblance to a shark before a familiar blackness overtook her.

"Wasei! Damn it!"

Wasei was vaguely aware of her surroundings. She felt warm, although she couldn't tell if it was her body's response to the cold and pain, or if she was _actually_ warm.

Two huge hands pushed sharply against her chest, pumping her heart for her, Wasei tried to take a breath, but her throat was drowned in water. Drunkenly, she wondered why she couldn't breathe, and numbly realized she was drowning herself. Snapping back into reality, she flipped over, coughing out the water she had swallowed. Shaking, wet, terrified, she fell onto the cold forest floor in her damp sweater and pants, trembling.

Two familiar arms wrapped around her middle, sapping the excess water that coated her, completely drying her off. Wasei managed to lift her head, and almost cried with happiness at the sight of Kisame's face.

She groaned lightly, feeling fresh tears beginning to form. She turned in his arms, settling against his chest, shivering violently before passing out.

Kisame sat, bewildered. It had been a miracle he had found her, after setting out on a retrieval mission for Leader. He looked around the scene, observing the scattered multitude corpses of the men he had killed. When he saw them almost drowning her, like children drowning a stray cat, something had just- snapped. He didn't fully remember what had happened, but he could get a pretty accurate feel for what _did_ through the carnage that surrounded him. Kisame was relieved Wasei hadn't noticed it in her distress, and wasn't planning on letting her see it when she came to. He stood, holding her carefully, and was back to the lair in a flash.

Wasei fell back into consciousness on something soft. She opened an eye, seeing Kisame in all his blue glory. Feeling somewhat energized, she sat up, breaking eye-contact with him to look down at herself. Wearing a yellow sweater and the same black pants, she seemed otherwise fine. She glanced up at Kisame, noticing he was watching her, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Biting the inside of her lip, she broached the subject. "Kisame, I- about earlier.. I was confused, and, well- I ran and.. made the wrong choice, and- I'm sorry that I ran away.."

Kisame shook his head, the same stormy look on his face. "I'm giving up on teaching you sense. You're innocent by nature, and I'm not trying to change that." He smirked. "Besides, it's more fun this way."

Wasei blushed, looking down at her hands, pulling at the yellow sweater. With a start, a thought came to her.

"Kisame, how did I get into this sweater?"

He looked over and grinned broadly, crossing his large arms. "Are you really asking that question?"

Wasei's face turned an impossible shade of red as she checked for the black t-shirt. Gone. She looked over at the opposite wall as it suddenly became interesting.

Kisame's face gradually lost the perverted grin that it so often harvested as he turned to Wasei. "Wasei, why did you-"

"Kiss back?" She finished, turning to him. "I- don't really know, actually. I guess, maybe, I might possibly.." She trailed off, feeling her face being to heat up again.

Kisame was surprised, seeing that this was one of the first women that had actually admitted to something like this to him. Actually.. It was _the_ first. Ever. In his entire life. He was silent for a while, leaving Wasei to stew.

Wasei fiddled with her hands, unsure of what to do, exactly. She glanced over, seeing Kisame staring back at her. Awkwardly, she slid off the bed towards the door. "Um, I think I'm going to play piano for a bit.." Wasei ducked out the door, walking into the living room.

Sakura burst into Tsunade's office, trying her best to remain composed. "Wasei's been taken."

Tsunade's head jolted up, and she seemed to loose her haughty demeanor for a moment. "What did you say?"

"I- I found Wasei's door blown to bits, and Wasei's missing. We think the Akatsuki's come for her, they were spotted a few days ago by several townspeople."

Tsunade set down her sake glass, sighing softly. "We need to find her quickly, I don't think she'll last long in that kind of company."

Sakura nodded, heading off to hopefully catch a few last minute team members.

Wasei sat down at the instrument trying to clear her head. She breathed in, starting to play. She managed to play every note correctly, but there was something- dry. She wasn't on the ball. Wasei tried one more time, releasing into the piece, forcing herself to let go. Wasei's face fell into a serene smile as her piece began to develop feeling. She didn't notice Kisame's entrance until he was towering over her left, watching her play the black and white keys, wondering how such a child-like person could create something so mature. Wasei jumped, almost falling off of the chair. "Jesus, Kisame, you nearly gave me a heart attack. What is it?"

Kisame pulled her off the chair, kissing her hard. Wasei's froze, surprised. He pushed her against the wall trying to restrain himself from doing anything rash.

It felt different from last time. This was more _real_. Which meant… He had feelings for her? But he never seemed, well, _happy_ to see her. He always looked somewhat angry, but then again, when didn't he? Still numb, Wasei felt her eyes fall shut, kissing back with surprising eagerness. Grabbing the collar of his cloak, she pulled him in closer, tilting her head to get a better angle. Wasei felt Kisame grin, and gasped as he pulled her up the wall, bringing her to eye level, kissing her again with growing intensity, and Wasei slowly began to fall into him, trusting that he was able to hold her. She felt his muscles ripple as he pushed himself against her, gathering her into him. Wasei rested an hand on his shoulder, the other on his bicep, never losing the thrill of the frighteningly huge muscles against her hand.

Kisame kissed her harder, and his hand flashed up her shirt, making her jump.

He pulled away, smirking. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

Wasei blushed, frowning, trying to decide just how far she was going to take this. "I-"

Kisame cut her off, kissing her deeply one more time, then setting her back onto the ground. She blinked as he stepped away, her arms still hanging in the air. Slowly, she fell against the wall, trying to breathe. She couldn't say she was surprised by him, though. He had always been rather- forceful. He stepped back, running a hand through her short, curled, snowy hair. She looked up at him wonderingly.

Kisame leaned against the piano, a couple feet away. He crossed his arms, looking at her, waiting for her to say something.

"I- think I really like you, Kisame." Wasei stammered, brushing her ruffled bangs off her forehead.

Kisame scoffed, "Well, I think I gathered that, kid."

Wasei smiled lopsidedly, looking sheepishly. "I guess so. Thought I'd just put it out there."

Kisame smirked, standing straight. "Let's go."

"Where?"

"Out."

Kisame opened the door, waiting for her to walk through. The same askew smile remained on her face as she walked under his extended arm out the door, into the common room. Her red shoes clapped on the stone floor as she looked into the faces of the other members. Leader and Konan sat at the table, sharing a bottle of sake, Deidara reading through what looked like a scroll of some sort, Tobi and Zetsu sitting on the floor, playing majhong, the others nowhere to be seen.

Kisame and Wasei passed them, Wasei feeling light as air. Yes, she had liked other people in the past, although she had never really _acted_ on those feelings, but this was different. She had never been kissed, especially not like _that_, it was- exciting. Very exciting. It felt almost _dangerous_, it was thrilling and enthralling, she loved how he was so forward, he was _brazen_. Had he told her to let him feel her, she likely would have listened to him, unable to ignore that Alpha male inside of him that made her feel woozy. She felt herself turn pink thinking back to what had happened, sheepishly walking a bit closer to Kisame. They passed through the main doors, stepping into the freezing forest. He draped a log-like arm over her shoulders, his unreal heat encircling Wasei's freezing body.

Wasei let him lead the way, having no actual idea where they were headed. She rested a hand on the arm, trying to get warm. They stopped in front of another river, this one bigger than the one she had previously encountered. Kisame released her, shifting off his cloak, stripping off his shirt, wearing just a pair of pants. Wasei took a guilty look at his muscles, still fascinated by the sheer power he seemed to radiate. He met her eyes, smirking.

"You don't have to look so guilty, Wasei. You can look."

Wasei felt her face grow an embarrassing shade of scarlet, and she awkwardly turned to face the other direction, watching the dark shadows of the trees dance around under the huge moon. She was almost certain he did this just to make her nervous.

Kisame shook his head, kicking his shirt and cloak to the side, walking towards the red Wasei.

"Follow me, and kick you shoes off."

He nudged Wasei in front of him, pulling the both of them over to the river. Wasei instinctively dug her bare heels into the ground, pushing against Kisame's moving form. Barely seeming to notice, he moved the two of them towards the river.

Wasei felt very cold, pressing back into Kisame as far as she possibly could. Deciding to make a break for it, she darted to his left, right before he snapped a limber arm out, catching her and bringing her back into his chest.

"Kisame, why are you doing this?" She breathed, unable to make a louder sound.

Kisame held her tightly, "Because you need to get over this fear. Just get in the water with me."

Wasei shook her head violently, clinging to him as best she could.

Kisame frowned, pulling her up into his arms, advancing towards the river. She breathed quickly and clung to him, unaware of the effect it was having on Kisame. Kisame could help but feel a surge of heat pulse through his core. He wanted her right this second-

"Stop, don't! Kisame, please, please-"

He was snapped out by her pleading, managed to gain control over himself, just barely, and stepped into the water, feeling Wasei flinch. He held her tighter, bringing her closer to him, lifting her up to let her head rest in the crook of his neck. She buried her face in the blue muscle, waiting for this to end.

"Wasei, it wont hurt you, it's water."

"Kisame, I can't swim."

Kisame looked down at her, surprised. "Well, now's an excellent time to learn, kid."

Wasei shook her head again, trying to get as far away from the dark waters as possible. Kisame stood in the middle of the river, waist high. He began to lower the two of them, and felt Wasei begin to tremble.

"Kisame, don't do this."

"Be reasonable."

"I can't! I don't want to be reasonable! I just want to get out of this water! Is- Is this because I wouldn't let you feel me up?" Wasei looked up at Kisame's emotionless face.

Kisame blinked, before falling into bellowing laughter, his chest shaking against Wasei. "No, that's ridiculous! This is something I've been meaning to do for a while."

Pulling Wasei's sweater off and tossing it over by his clothes, leaving her in pants and chest bandages, he began sinking into the water, feeling Wasei tighten her grip around his neck. He buried a hand in her hair, pressing her into him.

He plunged them underwater, hearing Wasei's scream cut off by a rush of water. Kisame held her tightly, holding her head against his chest, feeling Wasei fighting to get out of the hold. He rose quickly as he had sunk, letting Wasei breathe. She choked and sputtered, still clinging to him.

"Geh! Kisame, don't ever do that-"

"Take a breath." He said, barely giving her a second to do so before sending them back under.

Underwater, it was eerily quiet, and Wasie's fear began to dissipate ever so slightly. Kisame held her out at an arm's length, restraining her from leaving, but giving her enough room to get used to the water. She stared, terrified, at Kisame, remaining absolutely still. He grinned, running a hand over her cheek underwater. The memory of being sucked under, spinning over and over in the tide kept flashing through her mind, but was softened by the calm assuredness of Kisame's actions. Wasei's eyes never left his face, a mid-level terror running through her now. Kisame brought her in, taking the two of them back up. She breathed in and out rapidly, shaking. "D-Don't leave me in here."

Kisame's grin returned. "You got it."

He loosened his grip on her, and she began to panic, grabbing for him. "You said-"

"No, you've got to swim."

"No- I cant! Please, just- I'll stay in the water, just hold me!"

Kisame shook his head, a hurting expression on his face. "You have to swim, Wasei. I know you've got it in you, do it or drown here."

Wasei desperately tried to stay afloat, kicking her feet rapidly, choking on the water rushing down her throat. Kisame, grabbed her flailing arms, moving them against Wasei's will, pushing them in circles, "Do this."

She made quick circles, shocked to see that it actually kept her afloat. She kicked her feet harder, seeing that this helped.

A bemused smile crossing her face, she glanced up at Kisame, seeing a hint of a relieved smile on his face.

"Well?"

Wasei laughed once, trying to perfect the new technique she had learned. With the knowledge of swimming, the water seemed a bit less intimidating.

"I- .. I feel a bit better about the water, that's for sure.."

Kisame smirked, backing up from her.

"W-Wait, you said you wouldn't leave!"He smiled darkly. "I'm not." He plunged under the water, sending up a spray of water. Wasei felt panic begin to set in, feeling alone in the depths. She felt something rush by her, sending waves up on the other side of the river. She found herself caught in the spirals that object had set up, falling under the surface. She pulled herself back up, trying to see what on earth could have been moving that fast under water. It soared by under the water, this time on her right. She was sucked towards it, spinning in the tumultuous back-lash.

Two giant hands reached up and grabbed her, tossing her into the damp air above the lake.

Wasei yelped in surprise, flying up into the air. Kisame easily caught her, laughing deeply.

Wasei laughed once, playfully pushing Kisame away.

"Get off me, you big lug."

Kisame smirked, releasing her. Wasei floated back, trying to figure out how he could swim around so fast. She ducked underwater, for the first time willingly, and tried propelling herself forward, sliding through the water. She grinned, pushing with more force, trying to see just how fast she could go. Although she was a failure as a ninja, she was still going to give it her best shot to be a decent swimmer. For Kisame's sake.

She popped up, seeing that Kisame was already on the bank, pulling his cloak over his shoulders.

Wasei sprang out of the lake, soaking wet. Kisame grabbed her shoulder, and Wasei felt the excess water fall away. She smiled, "Thanks."

Sheepishly sliding on her sweater, she looked the other way, feeling Kisame watching her. She slid on her shoes glancing at the lake, and turned to him. "Thank you." She said, smiling softly.

Kisame looked at her, walking the two of them back to the lair, arm draped around her shoulders as it had been before.

Wasei kicked her shoes off, falling into the bed, sore. She had no idea that swimming could be so exhausting. She felt like she was sinking into the sheets, and shivered slightly, feeling the biting cold creeping into the bed.

Kisame pulled her to him, breathing in. No matter how many times he did that, it always made Wasei nervous. Nevertheless, she smiled, becoming warm.

"But I just want to-"

"No."

Kisame looked at her, unmoving. Wasei frowned, balling her fists. "Why cant I?"

He smiled frankly. "Because you're too weak."

Wasei's face fell, and she became silent. Kisame looked at her, and left. She turned to leave before someone grabbed and kissed her quickly. Wasei blinked, seeing Kisame grin before going for real.

Wasei sat at the base of the wall, hands resting under her chin.

She really _was_ weak.. She couldn't even fend for herself here, let alone inflict a hint of damage onto Kisame. Back home she had been a plain ninja, if on the weaker side, but here she was just down right pathetic. She blinked back frustrated tears, kicking at a loose stone in the floor.

"Hey, kid." Wasei glanced up, seeing Konan staring back down at her.

Wasei's eyebrows shot up, and she scrambled to her feet, trying to look composed. "Y-Yeah?"

Konan looked coolly at her. "Buck up."

Wasei watched her leave, _Was that an encouragement or an order?_

She turned awkwardly, glancing over her shoulder, and left towards Kisame's room to find cleaning supplies.

"Wasei! Wasei!" Wasei almost jumped, looking up from her scrubbing the floors to Tobi's swirling orange mask.

"What?" She asked, almost afraid.

Tobi pulled her up off the floor, dancing with her. "You want to play a game?"

Wasei laughed, unable to restrain herself. "That sounds nice, Tobi. Bring it on, then!"

Tobi seemed to think for a moment, (it was impossible to tell from behind the mask) and then poked her shoulder. "Tag! You're it!" He cried, dashing down the hall. Wasei grinned. This was her absolute favorite game.

"Not for long! Feel my wrath!" She cried, sprinting after him, determined to win at this.

She chased him all throughout the house, stirring up one hell of a ruckus.

"A_ha_!" Wasei cried, poking Tobi. "You're it!"

Tobi cried out dramatically. "No! Not this! It shouldn't end like this! Tobi has been bad!"

Wasei laughed wildly, running in the opposite direction, hearing Tobi's clomping footsteps closing in behind her. She wondered why she hadn't gotten to know this man earlier, he was a blast! She laughed again, ducking behind a corner, waiting for her chance to strike. Tobi dashed around the corner, and she jumped onto him, hearing his laughter intermingle with her own.

They sat at the counter, becoming continually closer. It was funny, he was like the brother she had wished for when she was younger. Unfortunately, she was an only child, and her parents abandoned her, their sickly, weak child when she was young, leaving her in the care of Sakura's parents, although she had moved into her own home at fifteen. She laughed, seeing Tobi whip a grape across the room, aiming for Deidara's head. He dodged it, glaring over his shoulder at the two of them. They both fell silent, trying to pretend that nothing happened, looking up at the suddenly fascinating ceiling, suppressing laughter. "Tobi, Leader-sama is sending you on a mission with Sasori. You should go now." Konan closed the door to Leader's office, and Wasei felt her heart sink a bit. "Aw man.." Tobi looked over, and Wasei thought he might be smiling. "Don't worry! I'll be back soon."

Wasei smiled. "Good." She watched her new friend go, and couldn't wait to tell Kisame that she had actually succeeded in talking and befriending one of the members of the Akatsuki.

Deidara made his way over, sitting across from her at the table.

Wasei looked at him questioningly.

"Kisame. What is he to you?"

Wasei almost choked. "W-Well, he's.. Someone that I love very.. Much…" She looked at her hands resting on the table, turning red, feeling awkward.

Deidara reclined in his chair. "Well, yeah, I gathered _that_, but- he's _blue_, and _strange_. Doesn't that bother you? I mean you're, well, beautiful. Little, but beautiful."

Wasei's eyebrows shot up, and she looked at him strangely. "Kisame is actually a very handsome person, Deidara. You should take a better look next time."

Deidara raised an eyebrow, wondering what this girl could possibly see in the _thing_.

"A handsome person that kidnapped you and is holding you hostage."

Wasei looked at him. "Well, I'm okay with that."

Deidara snorted, running a hand through his long blonde hair. "You're a strange, strange little thing."

Wasei laughed once. "Get used to it."

Deidara smirked. "Alright."

The looked at each other, mutual respect between artists apparent on the other's face.

It was surprising what a week without Kisame was like. This was the first time he had left her to herself since she came here, and it was enthralling. She was getting to know the Akatsuki better, in between exploring and playing the piano, and was shocked to find that they were actually people too, criminal, scary people that she knew Kisame was right about, but people nonetheless, although she had yet to actually talk to the elusive Itachi. It was exciting, talking to them, and she couldn't possibly wait any longer to tell Kisame what she had accomplished. She sat at the living room table, debating with Hidan over whether or not he could survive after being incinerated when she saw Leader walk into the room.

"I'm pos- oh, and um, Hidan, ah, remember to keep the floors clean."

Hidan laughed once, playing along. "Thanks for cleaning up my mess, Wasei, you're _such a great housekeeper_." He said loudly, seeing Leader roll his eyes at the charade.

Wasei smiled sheepishly, walking towards Kisame's room. "And on that note, I leave you to finish my mundane cleaning."

Hidan smiled, (well, as much as Hidan _could_ smile) and walked off, leaving Wasei to her own.

Wasei entered Kisame's room, picking up the bucket of supplies and got to work on their floor, seeing that it badly needed a scrubbing.

"Wasei?"

Her head shot up, she felt her heart beat faster. Kisame walked into the room, the age-old feral grin on his face. Wasei felt her face heat up, realizing she was a mess from cleaning all day.

"Oh, Kisame! You're back, um, hold on-" She turned to leave for the restroom before being spun into a pair of arms. Her face pressed into his stomach, and she felt him breathe in slowly. For the first time in a week, she felt completely safe. It was ironic, seeing as he was one of the most dangerous men out there. Actually, it was just plain bizarre. Nevertheless, Wasei smiled, hugging him tightly, and felt Kisame grip her tightly, lifting her off of the floor, Wasei laughed, clinging to him tightly. "Guess what, I've made friends!"

Kisame raised his eyebrows. "With the Akatsuki? I'm impressed."

Wasei grinned, nodding. "Yup. They're terrifying, but I like them. They're sort of like a big dysfunctional family, don't you think?"

Kisame shook his head, smiling. "Just be careful, Wasei. I can't lose you." Wasei laughed, hugging him tightly one more time. "I don't think you'd be _able_ to lose me."

"Wow, so you've got a girl, huh?"

Wasei's laughter ceased, and she jumped out of his arms, facing the speaker. A tall, black-haired man stood in the doorway, grinning. His blue eyes flashed.

"Well, more of a kid, than anything. Never took you for a pervert, but I guess looks can be deceiving."

Wasei bared her teeth, taking a step forward, ready to sink her fist into the mans gut. Kisame grabbed her shoulder tightly, holding her in place. Wasei stood her ground, refusing to be placated. "I might be small, but I'm just as much a ninja as you are-"

The man burst out into laughter, his thick form shaking with each wave. "You cant be serious. You're, what, four feet tall? Don't lie to yourself, kiddo, you're no more of a ninja than I'm a woman."

Wasei snarled, "Listen, I don't know who the _hell_ you are, but you'd better pipe down, and take a look at the _shit_ you're in, seeing as you _probably _got your pussy whipped, like every self-important douche-bag should, and now you're most likely Pein's _bitch. Furthermore,_ you're acting like a dumb-shit and fighting with _me_, who's with _him_." She gestured with her thumb to a baffled Kisame. "Not smart. So why don't you just _shut up _and keep the _jackass_ comments to _yourself_."

Kisame's eyebrows shot up, and he suppressed a wild grin, liking this undiscovered side of her. The man fell silent, giving Wasei a haughty smirk. Wasei looked back at him, visibly seething.

"You've got guts, kid, I'll give you that. Guts, however, wont protect you from me." He rushed at her, bunching his hand into a fist. Wasei ran forward, eager to beat this man into submission.

Kisame stood, watching, judging when it would be a good time to intervene. Wasei had been spot on about the prisoner status, he was currently property of the Akatsuki, gathered for his tailed beast. He knew that Wasei wouldn't be able to beat this man, but even he himself couldn't resist the temptation of seeing an angry Wasei fight.

She feinted to the right, popping a kick to the left of the man's head, and almost connecting before she was knocked to the side by a swift fist. She skidded briefly, then rushed back, aiming another blow towards his head. Kisame glanced at the man, seeing his chakra level flare up and decided it would be a good time to bring this to an end. In a flash, the man was suddenly on the opposite side of the room, and Wasei was gathered into Kisame's arms.

Kisame smirked. "Gona, if you ever aim a fist at my girl again, you'll lose it."

The man, Gona, glared at him, saying nothing. Wasei wriggled in Kisame's arms, still attempting to take a chunk out of Gona. Kisame motioned to him, walking out the door. Wasei watched Gona exit the room, and glance at the doorway, then back to Kisame and Wasei, wondering if he could actually escape right then. Deidara suddenly appeared beside him, making that decision much easier. Gona grunted, following the two down the hallway. Wasei glared over Kisame's shoulder at him, and Gona coolly stared back, clenching his jaw in aggravation.

"In here." Kisame opened a cell for him, standing to the side.

Gona entered, radiating fury. Kisame slapped a seal onto the cells bars, smirking darkly. "Just in case."

He walked off, setting Wasei on the ground. She cast one last look over her shoulder, feeling an out of place pang of pity for the man. He slumped in the corner of the cell, staring at his hands. The previous anger she had for him seemed to dissipate, to her surprise, and all that was left was a small feeling of sorrow for him. A very, _very _small feeling.

"Kisame, who was that?"

He opened the door to their room, ushering her in. "He's one of the tailed beasts. We're going to draw it out of him."

Wasei's eyes widened. "Oh.. I see."

Kisame grinned. "Nothing you have to worry about."

She glanced at him. "I missed you.."

Kisame's face turned serious, and pulled into a solemn exterior. "You didn't have any trouble while I was away, did you?"

Wasei laughed once. "No! No, that's not what I meant at all! I meant that I actually missed seeing _you_ and sleeping in the same bed as _you_, and-" She broke off, seeing a smirk break out over his face.

She blinked, and his face was centimeters from her own. Wasei felt hers heat up from white to red, and she pulled back as he moved in, falling back onto the bed. Automatically, he climbed over top of her, closing the distance between them. Wasei kissed back, feeling the euphoric, swimming sensation she always got whenever she was close to him. He smelled like pine. Kisame pulled her up to him, kissing her in the rough, confident fashion that she had missed. Wasei felt the same melancholy feeling burn in her stomach, and she felt dizzy, melting into him.

Without warning, the same hand fled into her shirt, making her jump, and her heart beat escalade up to dangerous levels.

"P-Piano." She gasped, twisting her shoulders away from him, and ducking out from underneath him, springing off the bed.

Kisame watched her flit out the door, not really surprised. He hadn't expected it to go any other way, really. He groaned, wondering if it ever would.

Wasei sat at the instrument, catching her breath, trying to calm down enough to concentrate on the keys. Without thinking, she just began playing, not really knowing where the music was coming from, and, quite frankly, not caring. Just something to soothe her nerves. She hesitantly thought back to both times, and was shocked at how gentle he had been. Behind the rough hands and gruff demeanor- he was surprisingly warm.. Wasei felt her head tilt forward, feeling waves of exhaustion hitting her like blows of a fist, and her lungs began to tighten, deciding she was going back to him after this song.

Unbeknownst to her, her song had begun drifting into a brighter tune, increasing more and more as she thought about him.

Gona sat up in his cell, wondering where the lilting tune was coming from. He rested his head against the bars, listening. His heart pulled at his ribcage, and something seemed to click. The image of the pale girl rushed to him and almost blinded him, it was everywhere, _she_ was everywhere, and he needed her. He ran a hand through his thick hair, shocked at where this had come from. He supposed it was infatuation, but there was just this quality about her that pulled him to her, that made him _want_ her, to hold her to him and call her his. It was an amazingly strong feeling: he needed to have her. He smiled softly to himself, picturing the tiny, ghostlike girl next to him, smiling blithely.

Wasei stretched, trying to straighten her aching back when there was a light knocking at the door. She glanced up, still stretching, wondering what it could be about.

"Yeah?" She called softly, aware that it was rather late.

The door creaked open, revealing a bizarrely sheepish looking Kisame.

Wasei flashed a white smile. "Kisame.." She said, coming to him.

He looked down at the tiny thing in front of him, wondering what on earth could be floating around inside that head of hers. "You should come to bed." He smirked. "Although I can't promise what will happen to you, kid, if you do. I've missed you too much."

Wasei's face turned a bright red. "Well.. I think I'll take the risk. I'm exhausted."

Kisame's smile grew, and he pulled her in, inhaling the smell of flowers that she miraculously radiated.

Wasei woke in stages, each coming in quicker than the last. Finally, she was able to roll into Kisame, getting a bit warmer in the otherwise freezing bed. She blinked, feeling amazingly tired. How late had she stayed up that night, exactly? At least until the next day. It was still night. She just couldn't find any sleep, she supposed she was worried about how things were fairing with Kisame. Wasei had friends that had boyfriends, some of which they had slept with on the first night, others with which they had yet to sleep with. What hurt the most was what gnawed at the back of her mind: this couldn't last peacefully forever. Sooner or later there _would _be a confrontation between the Hidden Leaf and the Akatsuki over her, and there _would_ be blood. It had been, what, eleven days? Twelve? She couldn't remember. It would be a very short time before someone came for her, shouldn't she make the most of the remaining time?

Arms tightened around her, and she rested her chin on them, feeling that reoccurring sense of security that came with Kisame's presence.

A rough hand tousled Wasei's hair, causing her to wake.

"What..?" She mumbled, agitated from being woken up so early.

Kisame grinned. "Up and at 'em." He rolled her off the bed, setting her on her two feet before she nearly toppled backwards.

"No… Just a few more minutes." She clung to him, half hoping he would give up and set them in bed. Kisame looked down at her before walking out, Wasei still clinging tightly to him. He walked briskly into the kitchen, pulling her off of his side.

"Wasei, you're giving me a bad image."

She leaned tiredly against the counter. "How so?"

Kisame poured a glass of sake, and a glass of water for Wasei. "If the rest of the Akatsuki see me like that, they'll think I've gone soft."

Wasei grinned, "Oh, Kisame! You're so _sweet_ and _sensitive_! Share your feelings some more!" She called, laughing in between sentences.

Kisame clapped a hand over her mouth, listening for a sign that someone had heard that. He smiled darkly. "Don't do that."

Wasei laughed pushing his hand off with some effort. "Or what, you'll feed me to the hounds?"

Kisame's grin grew, and he lowered his face to hers. "Worse."

Wasei's cheeky smile faltered, and she reached for her water glass, never breaking eye contact. "Oh.." She took a big sip, edging away.

He laughed, downing the glass, chasing it with water. Kisame tossed her an apple, which she deftly caught, examining its yellow-red surface for anything dangerous.

"You're getting better."

She glanced up questioningly. "What do you mean?"

Kisame leaned against the counter. "You're reflexes are improving. You wouldn't have caught that the first week you were here."

Wasei blinked. "But- I haven't done anything that would- I mean, I've just been cleaning.."

Kisame bit into a pear. "That'll do it. You're building muscle."

Wasei's eyebrows raised in an "oh, really" expression, taking another sip.

"Good morning, all."

Wasei turned, Kisame was already at the entrance, Samehada to the intruders throat.

"What are you doing out here?"

Gona put his hands up in a placating gesture. "Just getting some fresh air, jeez."

Kisame lowered the sword slightly. "Get back in your cell." He said.

Wasei took an involuntary step back, terrified by the sudden venom in his voice. "K-Kisame.. Can't we just let him out for a bit?"

Kisame looked back, incredulous. "Who's side are you on, Wasei?"

She shrugged, taking a small step forward. "Please?"

Gona felt his heart swell, seeing her stand up for him. "Hey, if the girl says I can go.."

Kisame lifted him by the shirt collar, pushing him into the wall, in a voice low enough where as Wasei couldn't hear: "One false move, and you're dead." He dropped him, taking a protective step towards Wasei. She glanced up at him, taking a bite out of the apple. Gona rubbed his neck, smiling lopsidedly.

"And a good morning to you, too, sir and ma'am." Wasei smiled, laughing slightly. "How'd you get out, Gona?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, nothing too extravagant. I used to pick locks back when I was a kid, and the seal was pretty shitty."

Wasei felt Kisame tense beside her.

"Besides," Gona said, a smirk spreading out over his face. "I couldn't keep myself away from you, kid."

Wasei blinked surprisedly, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Kisame reached for his Samehada, more than ready to hack this guy to shreds.

"Um, thank..you..?" She looked at him oddly, trying to figure out if this was a joke or not. Gona smiled blithely. "You played beautifully the other night, by the way. Would you would perform with the same ineptitude in bed, I wonder?"

Kisame flashed forward, deciding to bludgeon the man to death. It would be more satisfying. Wasei felt her face heat up, and she grit her teeth, wanting to smack some sense into him herself. She grabbed Kisame's arm, pulling him back with all she had, and was inwardly delighted to see that he actually moved slightly, if only by a centimeter. 'Maybe I'm gaining muscle after all…' Kisame glanced down at her, seeing the fire emanating from her, and gave her the reigns.

"Gona, what do you mean by that?"

He grinned charmingly. "I've got the hots for ya', sweet thing."

Wasei smiled aggravatedly. "Well, as touching and creepy as that is, I'm not leaving Kisame. Ever. So kindly fuck off."

His smile widened. "Ouch. That one stung a bit. Kiss it make it better?"

Wasei balled her fists in a comical expression of anger. "There are boundaries." She said through her teeth.

"Which I would cross without hesitation to get to you."

Wasei aimed a punch at his arrogant face, throwing her whole weight into it. Gona grabbed her wrist, pulling her into a kiss, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Wasei froze, instinctively pulling back, before an enormous force threw Gona from her. Wasei stumbled back, hitting one of the chairs before completely falling over her own feet onto the floor.

"I'll kill you!" Kisame roared, racing after Gona.

Gona laughed wildly, "Such insecurity! Does this mean you haven't done her yet?" He called, running circles around the living room before heading back into the kitchen.

Kisame increased speed, and for the first time since they became lovers, Wasei was genuinely afraid of him. His gruff face had turned stone cold, and he had a terrible gleam to his eye that seemed to speak "kill".

Kisame easily caught up to him, throwing him across the room into the wall, racing across to meet the rising form of Gona. "Listen, pup. I already told you, aim a fist at my girl, you lose it. Granted you didn't do that, the minute after they draw the beast out of you, I'm going to take you apart. Alive and screaming."

Gona visibly paled, painfully aware of the truth behind his words.

Wasei watched from the kitchen, unable to make out the words on the other side of the room. She watched as Kisame pulled him down the hallway, and heard the cell door slam shut, practically shaking the entire house. He stomped back, muttering something under his breath.

"Kisame…?" She asked tentatively, backing into the counter.

He looked at her, and visibly softened at her frightened state, if only barely.

Still the same, gruff Kisame, he stepped to her, pushing his face into hers in an instant. Wasei froze, remembering Gona, then fell calm, attempting to push back with an equal and opposite force. Kisame pulled away, looking to the side, somewhat angrily.

"I- just wanted to be the last one to do that." He huffed, sitting at the table not far off from where Wasei sat.

She smiled, she could almost laugh at the way he was acting. Kisame? Jealous? It was an absurd thought, yet here it was in living color. Taking a seat across from him, she grinned, touching her small, bare feet to his. "I'm not going anywhere, Kisame."

He smirked, pulling her around the table to him. "Damn right."

She smiled secretively, leaning back against him, playing with her hands. "I should get to work, huh?"

Kisame breathed out, resting his chin on top of her head. "Possibly. Or, if you wanted to be a bit more brazen, you could call in sick and come out swimming."

Wasei smiled, knowing the choice had already been made for her. "I'll get my shoes."

"No need." He said, sweeping the two of them out of the chair, dashing out the front entrance before anyone could stop them.

Gona sat in his cell, head between his knees, hands protectively clasped over the back of it. His head hurt like hell, and it wasn't surprising, what with the past hour. After all his hard work, getting out of his cell, he had to go and screw this up. The one thing that mattered. Despite all his big talk, he actually did love her, and it absolutely ate him alive that she was with- _him_. That giant, blue- monster. It really was a classic case of Beauty and the Beast, minus the handsome prince that lay within the inner exterior of the Beast. He laughed, supposing that he was the character 'Gaston'. It fit him perfectly. And look what he had gone and done for himself. Destroyed any chance of getting close to her, no, ever _talking_ to her again.

'Really nice, Gona, well done.'

He ran a hand through his short black hair, feeling the tailed beast in his kicking at its restraints. Unfortunately for him, the Monster had powered up the seal, so the beast was virtually worthless in here. However, out of the cell… He just needed Wasei here, she would be naïve enough, that was for certain. After all, she _had_ argued for him to be able to stay out- that is, before he kissed her like he did..

'I'll hold off on that for now..' He thought guiltily.

What bothered him the most was that after all the Monster had did to her, kidnapped, chased, caught, everything, she was, dare he say it, in love with the thing. With the _thing_. It was just- bizarre. And then there was the entire age dilemma. It was a, what, eleven year gap? Twelve? Granted, he was twenty four himself, but a seven year gap is much smaller than an eleven or twelve year one. Gona couldn't see how she could possibly be happy. And how could she have lasted this long in the base without catastrophic damage to her or her mental state? She was such an- _innocent_. It was almost laughable how much trust she held in that criminal, that murderer. Even he, all the way from the Earth Country, had heard stories of Kisame's vicious murders, the countless faces killed and drained of chakra, the villages destroyed. Granted he had never heard of him raping someone, he wouldn't put it past him, especially _now_. With this pure little thing blindly following him on his rampage. He shook his head, dumfounded at the workings of this arrangement. But he knew he would be the one to save her, that was for certain.

Kisame levitated the orb of water in front of Wasei, trying to demonstrate how the jutsu was done.

"You have to thread more chakra into it to make it look like- well, like a shape, Wasei."

Wasei seemed to pay him no heed, fumbling with the semi-solid water orb, threading it through her hands in attempt to shape it into an orb, or at least something manageable.

"Stupid- water- shit." She dropped it, and it splashed onto the forest ground, dripping from her hands.

Kisame shook his head, suppressing a smile. Granted, this wasn't how he had intended to spend this outing, he was genuinely interested in trying to teach her this small lesson.

"One more try?" Wasei asked, sheepishly.

Kisame nodded, handing her a pre-made ball for her to handle. She concentrated, shifting it from side to side whenever it rolled about, trying madly to keep it still like Kisame had so effortlessly done. Her tongue reached the corner of her mouth as she concentrated, absolutely determined to finish this. Kisame sat, watching her patiently, wondering if she could actually get it down. He grinned when he saw it beginning to take shape and came up behind her, adding a bit of his own chakra to it.

She looked up at him, smiling softly, enough to send him over the edge.

Kisame drew his chakra back in, leaving Wasei to attempt to try to steady it. She never got the chance.

Within the second, his face was glued to hers, knocking her back onto the grass by the river. She flinched, waiting for the impact of the ground, but it never came as Kisame caught her, dropping her onto the ground from the minimal height of three inches. He fell over her, kissing her roughly in his haphazard fashion that had thrilled and fascinated Wasei from the get-go. She pushed up against him, feeling the water orb she had dropped dissipate from underneath her.

His gripped her, wanting so badly to take her right then and there in the smooth, dark grass, but he knew better than to ruin what was happening. He settled for running a hand over the tiny figure under him. He felt her flinch back when he reached her chest, and he kissed her softer, rubbing a hand on her ribs. Wasei slowly began to relax, and, tentatively, palmed his stomach, something she had been dying to do for a very long time. She brought her hand over the hard surface, feeling numerous bumps and ridges. Wasei broke away from the kiss, glancing at his torso. He rolled onto his back, crossing his arms behind his head, giving her a better look. She sat up, staring intently at his marred, marked stomach. "What happened?"

Kisame smirked. "Dunno, kid. They just collected over time."

Wasei ran a hand over a long scar, wondering why she hadn't noticed them before. She supposed she had never actually gotten a close look at them before. Or feel.. She dragged her hand over his stomach one last time, realizing he was still watching her.

"I- think we should go back." She said, standing.

Kisame rose, pulling his cloak on, knocking his shirt down over the hardened skin. "It's getting late." He glanced back at her, waiting for her to fall into step beside him.

She glanced down at her hands before catching up to him. "Kisame? How come you always hold yourself back when we-.." She stopped, wondering why she would have even brought the subject up.

He absentmindedly rested an arm over her shoulders. "Don't want to scare you."

Wasei laughed once, looking up at him. "Kisame, you're an S-ranked criminal. You live for scaring people."

"So I'm supposed to scare people?"

"Well- yeah.. I guess."

He glanced down, smirking bring her in closer. "Does this mean I can do what I want with you?"

Wasei's face turned beet-red. "N-no. It doesn't." Kisame grinned, tightening his grip on her, "In time."

Wasei's head flicked towards him. "What?"

His perverted smile only grew, and he seemed lost in thought. Wasei looked down, trying not to picture, for her own sake, what on earth he might be thinking.

Sakura stood at the edge of the Fire Country, Kiba at her side. "Not much longer, maybe a day now."

Kiba nodded, petting Akamaru at his side. "We're coming for ya, Wasei."

Sakura smiled. "Thanks again for coming with me, Kiba."

He shrugged, "What can I say? I'm a regular gentleman. Besides, Wasei is.. Well, let's just say that she can't handle those guys on her own."

Sakura nodded sadly. "Let's hope she's managed, goodness knows what has happened to her so far."

Wasei sat boredly at the table, spinning an empty glass in between her small palms. All that was left in the hideout was Hidan, Gona, and her, and she was well aware of how interesting Hidan could be, which was not very, and Gona still continued to frighten her. So she resigned herself to sitting at the table, playing with a clinking glass.

There really was nothing to do in this house besides play with Tobi of Kisame, neither of which were here, and clean, which, thankfully, was unnecessary. The only thing left was piano.

Idly, she rose, meandering towards the piano room, guessing she had nothing better to do than play. The lair was clean for the time-being, with no one to create any sort of mess. She shivered slightly, from the cold, but also from the dark hallway. If someone were to approach her right now, she swore she would scream..

She touched the door, but froze, hearing her name. She glanced over her shoulder, listening intently.

"Wasei."

She jumped, hearing the voice directly behind her. Wasei whipped around, face to face with a giant, black door. She tentatively pressed her ear against it's surface, hearing movement on the other side, and slight breathing. Wasei stepped back against the opposite wall and stared at the door, aggravatingly unable to decide whether or not to open it. She wasn't able to pin point exactly who was speaking on the other side, it was so faint, which would likely spell danger in this house. But then again, living with and loving one of the most dangerous men in the world had significantly dulled her common sense. On one hand, there was an enormous, ominous door that she could hear a voice from in a supposedly almost deserted house. On the other hand, this was an adventure waiting just for her. It was the thrill and risk she had been searching for back in the village. She was just so curious… Her hand reached and opened the door on it's own accord, and she found herself standing inside, looking around excitedly. It was dark and dank, but interesting. Paraphernalia cluttered the walls and shelves, it looked like some sort of mass storage room. It was wonderful. Wasei walked down the path of shelves, reaching what looked like a series of holding cells. Her heart began to beat faster, and she wondered if this was the cell cluster that Gona was held in.

"Wasei! Over here!" Wasei recognized his voice, and turned cold. She backed away, seeing the outline of his big, dark form pressed against the cell's bars.

"No! Don't leave. Wasei, come here- please."

She stopped, glancing back. She could feel the pain in his voice, and wondered if he was feigning it or not. But- he sounded so upset.. "I- ok.." She hesitantly walked to the cell, hearing her footsteps rebounding off the stone walls.

Wasei stood in front of the cell, seeing Gona pressed against the barred door, five o-clock shadow shading his face. "Come closer."

She shook her head, "I don't think that's a good idea.."

Gona looked at her longingly. "Please, Wasei? I want to see you! I missed you.." He seemed to suppress his feelings and bit his lip. He seemed convincing enough. "Besides, Wasei, you know you like me, and you'll do it for me, right? Just pull the seal off the door, that's all." Gona smiled winningly, holding the cage bars.

Wasei laughed once. "Gona, you cant be serious, I'm not pulling the seal off the door, Kisame put it on there to _keep_ you in there."

His smile contorted into an menacing grin, and snapped out an arm, yanking her into the door. Wasei was shocked, swearing she had been far enough away, before hitting the side of her face on the steel bars.

"Get. The. Seal. Off. The. Door. Now." Gona snarled, pulling the collar of her shirt harder and harder. His eyes, Wasei saw, had taken on an almost red tint.

Wasei glared at him. "No way in hell."

Gona growled, and lowered his face to eyelevel. "I'll kill you. I'll kill you slowly, and your Kisame will be left with _nothing_, _just like before_. He'll go mad, Wasei, and all because you wouldn't pull of a _fucking scrap of paper_."

Wasei felt tears beginning to well up. "Gona, Don't do this, you're making a mistake, just let me go- Let me go and- and I _swear_ I wont tell anyone about this."

Gona glowered. "Not good enough." He grabbed her neck roughly. "Do it or I'll snap it."

Wasei breathed quickly, feeling herself being lifted. "I-…"

She grabbed onto his hands and tried to wrestle her self out of his grip, only succeeding in tightening it. Wasei could barely breathe, it was like her throat was being crushed by a compactor. She started to see stars, and heard his voice somewhere far off. Vaguely, she felt her sweater snag on something, and heard a ripping sound. Gona dropped her, and she fell to the floor choking and gagging, curling into a ball, spotting the seal torn in half, still clinging to her sweater. Galvanized horror flashed through her, realizing he was now completely free.

Gona looked down at her, shocked at what he had just done. He grabbed the lock, tearing it from the door, his eyes returned to their normal, light blue state.

"Wasei? Oh my god, I- the tailed beast, sometimes it just takes over and I-" He knelt, touching her heaving form. She flinched away, looking at him hatefully. "Don't lie to me. Please, just- leave me alone, Gona."

His heart plummeted, and he realized how close he was to losing her. Had he ever really had her? He supposed not. He sat on the ground, touching her hair.

Wasei sat up, moving away. "S-Stop it, Gona. Stay away from me." She stood, tottering slightly from the asphyxiation, seeing Gona rise as well. An uneasy feeling started to rise in the pit of her stomach. She needed to get out of here. Now. Wasei walked briskly past him, heading for the door, feeling a hand catch her forearm. Wasei whipped around, feeling Gona crash into her. She tried to kick out his knees, but he gripped her arms, slamming her into the wall. Wasei felt the breath rush out of her, and struggled to breathe.

"Let go! Gona, stop!" She turned her face away, trying to push him off.

"Wasei, listen." He hissed, shaking her.

She looked at him, half terrified half furious.

"Come away with me, we could make it to the Hidden Rain village and be happy." He smiled hopefully, leaning towards her.

Wasei turned her head, pressing her cheek against the wall she was pinned against. "Gona, that's ridiculous! I'm happy _here_. With Kisame. Not you." She writhed, trying to break free.

Gona held her tighter, god it felt so good to do that, feeling her moving against him. "Why? Wasei, I love you!"

She laughed once, looking at him. "You've known me for four days. That's ridiculous."

He stared into her. "You fell in love with Kisame in three."

Wasei stared at him, shocked. "How- how did you know that?"

Gona smirked. "You'd be surprised what you can pick up around here if you listen close enough, kid." He brought his face closer, nearly touching noses with her.

Wasei turned away again, "But, that's different. He was- I- I love Kisame, Gona, so let go, please. You can't change my mind, no matter what you say, _no matter what you do_."

Gona slackened his grip, and Wasei wriggled free, making towards the door. Just before she reached the frame, she glanced back, suddenly blinded by Gona as he kissed her roughly, gathering her into him, ignoring her attempts to free herself from him. Finally, he broke off, and Wasei could catch her breath. He held her at an arms length, and she wiped her mouth, glaring up at him from big green eyes. "Are you finished?" She asked in a monotone.

Gona looked at her, incredulous. What was he doing wrong? Sadness permeated him, and he felt his heart begin to break. "Wasei, please."

She looked away, emotionless. She had completely shut down.

Gona's previously haughty and sauntering demeanor had disappeared, leaving a falling and childish adult. He grimaced, feeling tears beginning to come on. How could he have been so blind and so _stupid_? She was Kisame's from the beginning. That- that _thing_.Gona looked at her, trying to burn the image of the girl into his memory, that ghostly beauty she radiated, that touchable, snowy skin that was now marred with bruising patches. She was perfectly pure. Gona held her one last time, and this time Wasei just stood, waiting for him to go. He kissed her deeply and left, walking into the woods, alone.

Wasei fell against the wall, shivering, clutching herself tightly. Kisame had been right. She had been so naïve, thinking that she was actually _safe _here. She had come so close to death, or rape, or both. Realizing this, she began to breathe quickly, gingerly touching the hand marks around her neck, wincing at the tender, forming bruises. God, she could still feel his hands.. She had to get up and get to her room, it was one of the few places where she still felt like she was remotely safe in the night. It felt like Kisame. Wasei dragged herself back to the room, falling onto the bed, becoming unconscious almost immediately.

Hours later, she woke, hearing voices outside the door.

"I heard them coming through the forest. Two of them, two hidden leaf ninja. They'll be here in a few hours."

Wasei froze, still laying on the bed, with the cold realization that they were finally coming for her. Her friends… Reasonably, she should be happy, leaving a dangerous lair full of criminals. But she wasn't. It depressed her, scared her badly. She felt like she was going to cry.

"And another thing. Gona's gone. He escaped earlier today."

"Well, how the hell did he get out?"

"Like hell I would know. I was in my chamber all day. Ask your girl, she was the only other person home."

"Damn it. I'm gone for a day, one day.."

Wasei sat up, hearing the door knob turn, and her heart beat escaladed. Kisame.

He walked through the door and froze, staring incredulously at her. His pure, beautiful little girl, marred, defeated. Bruises covered the entire surface of her long neck, she looked so small, so- fragile, breakable. Wasei stared back at him, feeling tears welling up, the emotions of the past four hours rushing back to her in lightning flashes, receiving the full force of what had happened. Kisame said nothing, crossing to her with impossible speed, standing just in front of her, not daring to touch the tiny thing.

Wasei felt the first tear spill over, and fell forward, burying her face into Kisame's stomach, shaking uncontrollably. He clutched her tightly, needing to hold her. "What did he do to you?" He demanded, pulling her away, holding her at an arms length. Wasei managed to gain control over herself, touching the hands that held her, remembering a similar grip.

"I- I heard my name and- I was stupid, I know, but I followed the voice, and it was Gona, and, and.. And he managed to grab me from his cell- I thought I was far enough away, I swear, and my sweater snagged on the seal that held the beast in, and- I-"

Kisame rubbed her shoulders, needing the rest of the information. "Wasei, go on. I need you to continue."

"I- it all happened so quickly, but he grabbed me and slammed me against the wall and asked me to run away with him.."

Kisame felt a flash of anger and accidentally crushed Wasei's shoulders in his grip. She winced, looking up at him painfully. He released her, leaning against the opposite wall. "Did h-"

"No." Wasei cut him off. "He didn't. He kissed me, but- that's it. I promise."

Kisame crossed to her once more, looking at the blue and purple marks across her neck.

"And these?"

Wasei touched them tenderly. "That was when he tried to get me to take the seal off. My sweater snagged it before he could strangle me."

He looked incredulously at her. "Why didn't you just take the seal off?"

Wasei looked up at him. "You wouldn't have."

Kisame couldn't argue with that. He held her face in his hands, relieved beyond words that she was still in one piece. Gona had given him pure hell when he battled with him, he was bewildered at how Wasei had managed to stay alive, let alone well enough to stand. She stopped his train of thought embracing him tightly, wanting the comfort that he unknowingly brought to her. He picked her up, sitting her on the bed, pulling away from her. "Take off your sweater, I'll heal some of the minor wounds."

Wasei turned her trademark red, looking at him nervously. "I- ok.. Thank you."

She was scared of losing him, she needed him to touch her one last time.

She lifted it off, revealing a ghostly white underbelly, completely unblemished, save for scattered bruises and scratches. The top half was covered by a tightly wrapped series of chest bandages, covering two small breasts. Kisame was fervently glad he was able to control his urges. He sat next to her, hands hovering just above her skin, slowly healing the wounds on her back and middle.

"Kisame? I don't want to go back."

Kisame smiled, a sort of gruff sadness laced into it. "I know, kid. But you have to go with them, at least for a while."

Wasei looked at her hands, feeling a wave of anxiety and sadness crash over her. "I know. And I will.. But- I don't _want_ to…"

Kisame kissed the back of her head, and continued healing her.

Wasei shivered, feeling the relief of the healing and the closeness of Kisame's hands.

Kisame smirked, almost reading her mind. The cuts and bruises were gone, even the ones on her neck, but he figured Wasei needn't know that yet. He touched her for the first time, running his hands over her back, pretending to stop and heal something. His grin grew bigger, feeling Wasei's quick, light breathing. Kisame walked a hand over her neck, brushing her clavicle, and Wasei's eyes fell half shut, she leaned into him, feeling a tingling feeling where he touched her. Something welled up in her chest, and her body turned to him, kissing him on it's own accord.

Kisame readily caught her, holding her small ribcage to him, pushing her flat onto the bed. Wasei ran a hand through his hair, and Kisame smirked, never seeing her be this forward before. He loved it. He haphazardly pressed a hand against her stomach, feeling Wasei react, flinching at first, then catching her breath and relaxing ever so slightly. Kisame brought her up with him, kissing her neck roughly, feeling her heart beat inhumanly fast. Wasei bit back a high moan, balling her hands into fists. Kisame smirked, not about to be bested by her. After a brief search, he successfully found her weak spot, kissing hard, palming her small chest at the same time.

Wasei gasped, trying to pull away. Kisame held her, kissing one more time, and grinned at the light sound he got out of her, sort of a soft mewl. Wasei froze, turning red, looking at Kisame. He smiled ferally at Wasei's surprised face, pushing her down. Her bandaged chest heaved under his hand, and he lowered himself, holding himself above her with the other arm.

"K-Kisame, I-"

"I know." He said curtly, obviously aggravated, pulling back, lying next to her.

Wasei touched the chest bandages. "No, that's not what I meant. I don't know what will happen to us after they take me back.. I love you so much, and want to be with you.. I just meant that- I've never done anything like this before, and- and.. I was wondering if you'd show me, before they come for me... Please. I don't want to do this with anyone else."

Kisame glanced over at her, incredulous. His face broke out into a perverted grin. "So, this means I can do whatever I want, then?"

Wasei felt her face return to a pink color. "I- I guess so."

Kisame smirked darkly, in a flash hovering over her, and Wasei wondered if she was being sensible. No, she supposed she wasn't, but was determined to go through with it anyways. She wanted to do this before going back to the village, to possibly never see him again. He kissed her deeply, pulling the chest bandages off before Wasei could change her mind. She instinctively pulled her hands over her chest, only to be pulled off by Kisame. He pinned her wrists to the bed, a knee on either side of her small waist.

"Don't. You're fine."

Wasei looked up at him, nervous as she'd ever been. She glanced down, seeing (with dull relief) that her pants still hugged her waist, saving her from complete nakedness. Kisame pulled back, tossing his shirt over with her sweater, before continuing.

"Wait!" Wasei said, pushing away. Kisame pushed himself up, looking at her, still flat on her back. "I- do you love me?"

Kisame laughed once. "What sort of question is that, kiddo?" He said, the same perverted grin on his face.

Wasei looked serious. "Do you love me?"

Kisame's face fell into a more serious smile. "Yes."

Wasei smiled softly and kissed him, feeling the rose tips of her breasts skim over Kisame's chest. He growled, gripping her body. She danced a gossamer hand over his chest and felt him smile, moving in closer. Kisame kissed her neck again, marking her, and Wasei moaned lightly, wrapping her arms around him. She felt something press into her leg, and she froze, feeling her stomach twist. Kisame laughed, grinning darkly at her.

"Just you wait, kid."

Wasei shakily looked up at him, feeling her cheeks sear. This was really happening, wasn't it? This was the moment that she had wondered would ever come. She felt fabric fly, and saw her warm black pants flying across the room to the growing pile of clothes, and were followed quickly by his own. Wasei's head reeled, and she held him tightly, feeling him pull her up with him, kneeling on the bed. He pressed her into the headboard, watching her face, half-waiting for her to beg him to stop, to let go of her. It was obvious she was scared senseless, and wondered if it was a good idea to do this so close to her first, traumatic brush with death. She was still a kid. But the thing was, he didn't know if he could stop himself. She was perfect, bare, and willingly letting him take her. All of her. Although he was a mostly civilized man, this was the one sect of life where he was- wilder.

Predatorial instinct took over, and he found himself pulling her off the headboard, gathering Wasei into his arms, throwing her back onto the bed. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it _his_ way. Wasei looked up at him, feeling him hold her hips down, this was really it wasn't it? He kissed her neck, lowering his face to hers, hovering inches away from her ear.

"Hold on." He muttered, and moved swiftly.

Wasei lay soundly asleep against Kisame's chest, rocked into REM by the steady up and down movement of his breathing. Kisame looked down at her, smoothing out her short, wavy hair. She moaned softly in her sleep, laying an arm over Kisame's stomach. He touched her ear, wondering how much longer they'd have together. He smirked.

She had been wonderful to have, and even more wonderful the past hour, but he had known from the beginning that this time would eventually arise. He drew her in. She was so small. He didn't know how she had lasted being so obnoxiously pure all her life.

"Kisame.." She said, beginning to wake up. Wasei drowsily looked up at him, becoming much more awake when she remembered the past hour. She looked away, staring at his blue chest, laying her head down and hearing his heart beat. He had been- Kisame. Trademark rough-and-tumble sort of lover. Wasei traced a circle on his chest, thinking. Dominating was the word she was searching for. And she had loved every second of it. He had made her scream for him, feeling things that she didn't realize she was capable of feeling. She looked back up at him, seeing his contented face, and she felt another wave of depression crash over her. "Kisame, what are we going to do?"

He breathed out, twining his hands into her hair, holding her, and Wasei blushed, thinking of the previous hour. "We'll give you to them in exchange that they leave. We can't risk them finding the location of our hideout."

Wasei nodded, pulling away from him, moving to get out of the bed. She cried out softly, feeling a twang of pain.

Kisame smirked, pulling on a pair of pants, coming around the bed to help her. Wasei leant against him, trying to stand on her own, attempting to shift her weight in a way that didn't re-tear anything. She glanced down, seeing a dried, think trickle of blood on her inner thigh, and she sighed, looking back up at him. He grinned, "You asked for it."

"Well-" Wasei couldn't argue with that, and rigidly made her way over to the bathroom, sitting on the counter, wetting a towel to clean her thigh.

Kisame stood beside her, pulling a shirt over his head. "Let me."

Wasei looked up at him sadly. "We don't have time. Their coming soon, I've already heard."

Kisame ignored her, taking the towel, running it up and down the inside of her leg, trailing a hand up her side. He was scarily good at this..

"K-Kisame, we can't. You're not even getting the blood off, you're just-"

Kisame kissed her fully, "Who says we cant?"

Wasei felt her breath falter, and she honestly couldn't think of a response, for once in her life. He swiftly wiped the blood off, kissing her again. Wasei moved to kiss him deeper, but flinched, feeling another agonizing jolt of pain run through her. Kisame continued kissing her, resting a hand on the center of her, and Wasei felt chakra rush through, healing the bruises and cuts inside of her.

She moved slowly, testing the job he had done. Flawless. She sighed in relief, and he moved the two of them back to the bed, falling over top of her.

"Kisame, really, we shouldn't- K-Kisame, please.." He kissed her neck, pulling his shirt over his head once more, running a hand down her side. "Kisame, would you just-"

He found her weak spot, marked by a purple, round patch, bruised from being kissed so hard. He healed it fully, then ruined the job, kissing it again.

Wasei cried out involuntarily, and undermined her entire argument when her body flexed, brushing his chest. She turned red, feeling Kisame grin. He created a mark almost identical to the previous one, causing Wasei to moan one last time before falling away. He moved to pull his pants back off, but froze, listening intently to what Wasei viewed as silence.

"Damn. They're coming."

He let her up, and tossed her clothes onto the bed, waiting patiently for her to get dressed. Wasei pulled them over her pale body quickly, trying not to notice Kisame's eyes scanning her. Kisame ran a hand down her back, relishing the shiver he earned from her, and exited the room, Wasei close behind, still hot-faced. He walked to the entrance of the lair, standing in the mouth of the cavern. He turned to her, holding out an arm to prevent Wasei from walking out.

"Wait. There are some things you should know."

Wasei looked up at him, listening.

"For your protection, I'm going to treat you like any other prisoner we would have here, so please don't act alarmed at the things I'm going to do. Secondly, I need your cooperation with me. You can't tell them that you've been outside or where the hideout is located, Wasei. It would risk the safety of everyone inside. I know you can pull one hell of a bluff."

She smiled, nodding. "You got it. I'll say something about blacking out."

"Excellent. One last thing. They're going to give you a physical, and they're going to see that you're not a virgin. Lie to them, Wasei, and tell them I raped you."

She blinked. "What? I- Kisame, that's- I can't-"

"Wasei, I need you to do that one thing for me. We both know I didn't, but you have to tell them that I did, you'll likely be killed otherwise, and we'll never see each other again."

Wasei looked down, slowly nodding. "Alright. Then, don't heal the marks on my body, it'll add to the story." She lifted part of her shirt, showing handprints across her hips and stomach.

Kisame touched them softly, feeling a pang of guilt, an exotic emotion.

"Fine."

Wasei looked up at him longingly, feeling hot tears pooling in her eyes. "I- I wont give up on you, Kisame. Come back for me."

He smiled, and the tenderness that resided in it shocked him, worried him a bit. "Don't you worry, kid."

She kissed him desperately, wondering if this would be the last time, and Kisame wondered the same, kissing back intensely. They both knew that it likely was. Wasei let go of him, squaring her miniature shoulders, blinking away a stray tear. She wouldn't leave the last impression of a weeping mess to him. She was going to be damn strong.

"Wasei?" Tobi came from around the hall, looking at her from behind the mask. "Tobi wont forget you." Wasei smiled sadly. "Likewise." She hugged him tightly, knowing she would miss his antics.

She bid goodbye to Deidara and Hidan, Konan and Pein, Zetsu and Kakuzu, once again standing alone at the entrance with Kisame. She took his hand, looking up at him. "I cant forget you, Kisame."

He gripped her shoulders, "We both knew this had to happen, Wasei." He kissed her deeply, feeling the familiar small hands sweep over his cheekbone, through his hair, trying to memorize him. Kisame held her tightly, finding himself unable to willingly let go of the perfectly small waist, the tiny ribcage, sheltering the heart that he knew was his.

Wasei felt herself tearing in two, but she refused to fall apart. She pulled away, "I know."

He stood, pulling her into his arms, and she rested her head against his chest, holding herself together. Seconds later, Kisame stopped, setting her down, roughly grabbing her shoulders, holding her too tightly. "Just an act, Wasei." He whispered, running a hand under her jaw for comfort. She rested her head briefly against his chest before snapping straighter, knowing that this counted for everything. He walked her to a clearing, standing in the center, waiting for the approaching ninjas.

Sakura and Kiba flew through the forest, silent. They both halted, feeling an immense amount of chakra ahead of them. Kiba shivered, and Akamaru whimpered, edging forward hesitantly. "What _is_ that?" Sakura mused, stepping forward.

"I don't think I want to know." Kiba said, nevertheless following Sakura forward.

"Let's go, Kiba." She said, continuing forward at a slower, more cautious pace.

Kisame heard them coming, and stood straighter, putting on his best façade, Wasei leaned away from him, ignoring how much it hurt to do so. Her heart jumped, seeing her two old friends burst through the trees, stopping twenty yards away from Kisame. Sakura looked up wondrously at the giant in front of her, and Kiba fell back a step. Kisame grinned frighteningly, showing a white row of sharp teeth, eyes flashing murderously. Wasei glanced up at him and felt herself grow cold. She had never seen this side of him. Had she seen it before she knew she was in love with him, she would have run, but after being with Kisame for as long as she was, she had been harboring a fascination for the dangerous and wild from the very beginning, and it had grown into a fully developed obsession. Now, she was mesmerized, completely lost in the thrillingly black expression on his face. She managed to turn her intrigued look into one of horror, pulling away from him.

Sakura stepped forward. "Let her go."

Kisame smirked, tossing her to the other hand. "This one?" He stoked her face, and she struggled to get away, keeping the act rolling. "We've had such- fun. But I can part with this thing, saying that you'll leave quietly."

Sakura nodded, daring another step forward. "Fine. Give her to us."

Wasei pulled at his restraining hands, trying to rush to Sakura, Kiba, and Akamaru. Kisame grinned, releasing her, pushing her forward. Wasei sprinted across the clearing, jumping behind Sakura, looking at him over her shoulder. Any other would think her face was that of terror, but Kisame could see the intense pain that clouded it. It hurt her to do this to him, and he could see that, which meant that the others might catch on. He snarled at her, and she caught herself, pushing the longing into the recesses of her mind.

"Wasei!" Kiba cried, hugging her tightly.

She returned it, burying her pained face in his jacket to try and collect herself. Sakura backed away, making sure Kisame upheld his end of the bargain. At the edge of the clearing she turned, sprinting after Kiba and Wasei, just wanting to get away from that man. They group ran nonstop back to Konoha, Wasei lagging slightly behind the group, feigning exhaustion.

They were silent, none really having anything to say to the other. Sakura glanced back, seeing Wasei's stormy face. 'Poor thing..' she thought, feeling pity for the girl. Out of all the ninja she could have sent out on that investigation mission, why did she send Wasei? She supposed that there really weren't any choices. All the others were busy. She shook her head with regret, continuing on, seeing the mountain with the Hokages just ahead.

Wasei saw it too, and felt a sad ripple. Home. It should have comforted her, she should be jubilant, that's what the previous, somewhat sensible Wasei would have done. She smiled grimly. That Wasei was long gone, she had died the moment he had kissed her. The newer, _truer_ Wasei just wanted to be at home. Her real home, with him and the rest of her family. Wasei fell into the walk that Sakura and Kiba had started, petting Akamaru who appeared at her side.

"Welcome home, Wasei." Sakura said happily, turning to her. "Come on, let's go see Tsunade."

Wasei smiled, nodding, remembering what Kisame had told her.

Kiba waved goodbye, heading off in another direction than the two girls. Sakura stopped and hugged Wasei, and Wasei returned it wholeheartedly, having missed her early adopted sister.

"What did they do to you, Wasei?" She whispered softly, stepping back, looking intently at her.

Wasei shook her head, turning her head down. "I- what _didn't _they do?" She pretended to touch a wound, and feigned a convincing wince.

Sakura's face fell, and she took Wasei's hands. "We need to go to Tsunade. You need to be checked out by a doctor."

Wasei nodded, letting Sakura lead her by the hand to the Hokage's building.

"Come in." Tsunade called from her office, sitting casually behind her desk, behind a mountain of paperwork. Her face fell into shock when she saw Wasei enter with Sakura. "Oh my god. Wasei?" She stood from behind the desk, coming around to see one of he favorite ninjas. Well, almost ninja. "You look sick."

Wasei smiled weakly, knowing that what she needed was Kisame. "I'm fine. Just tired."

Tsunade touched her gingerly. "Let's have a look at you." Not waiting for a response, she led Sakura and Wasei into one of the infirmary rooms, quietly shutting the door. Wasei knew the routine, coming here often when she was a child. She pulled her sweater over her head, stepping out of her pants and shoes, standing in front of them in just undergarments. Tsunade's face turned serious, seeing the monstrous handprints on her abdomen. Sakura's expression was one of horror and dismay. "Hop onto the table."

Wasei bottled her rage at their expressions. It killed her that they thought Kisame would actually do something so awful. Tsunade looked at Sakura, running a chakra infused hand over Wasei's stomach, abdomen, pelvis, legs. Sakura shut her eyes, looking ill. Tsunade just stood beside Wasei, taking her hand away. "I see a disruption in the pelvic area."

Wasei forced herself to look ashamed. "I- yes… I know." She wrapped her arms around herself, holding onto her white sides. Sakura stood beside her, looking at Tsunade. Tsunade crossed her arms, staring down at the girl. "There's also activity in the womb."

Wasei's head snapped up, and true shock covered her face. "What?"

Tsunade nodded emotionlessly, maintaining her composure as her job dictated she do. "You're pregnant, Wasei."

The world crashed in around her, and she almost fell off the table. "I-.." She couldn't formulate words. She just wanted Kisame there beside her.

Sakura pushed a piece of curly hair back behind Wasei's ear. "I'm not leaving you, Wasei. We're getting through this together."

Wasei tried to smile thankfully at her, but it was hollow, fake. She didn't want or need Sakura with her right now, she just- she needed her Kisame.

A child. That changed everything. The entire plan was irrelevant now.. She felt lost.

Kisame watched them disappear with his Wasei, and his previously menacing exterior fell from his face.

"Shit." He muttered. He turned his back on the now empty path. "God damnit!" He roared, ripping down one of the oaks around him, breaking no sweat. He brought the water from the nearby lake, whipping it through the trees, knocking down one after the other, gritting his teeth. He stared at the destruction in front of him, shaking with fury. They took her from him. They took Wasei, those two brats from the village and now he'd never see her again.. He'd kill ever goddamn one of them. He threw his weight into his foot, cracking open the earth beneath him, in agony.

Itachi appeared beside him, looking on at the scene Kisame had created.

"Go ahead and say 'I told you so'." Kisame snarled, unable to look at him, staring out at his destruction.

Itachi shook his head. "No. But you need to let her go, Kisame. You were fine without her before, you'll survive without her now."

Kisame looked at him finally. "I can't."

He left, walking back to the lair alone, hands tucked into his cloak, leaving Itachi to himself.

Kisame sat at the living room table, two empty cases of sake scattered around him. He sagged over the table, unable to form any coherent thought. Tobi, Deidara, and Kakuzu watched him from the living room.

"Tobi's never seen Kisame like this before.." He whispered, adjusting his mask.

Deidara shook his head. "He's drunk out of his mind."

Kakuzu ignored the two of them, watching Kisame.

Kisame grabbed another bottle, heading back to his empty room, looking blankly at the three men in the other room.

"God.." Deidara said, running a hand over his face. "We've lost him."

Kisame lay on the bed, staring at the rippling ceiling, thoughts spinning. Those sons of bitches took Wasei away, and he'd kill them, one by one. He was going to take her back, even if it meant taking their whole damned village down with him. That's exactly what he'd do. He rose, staggering slightly, busted open the door and began making his way towards the entrance. Deidara and Tobi stopped him, pulling him back. "Where do you think you're going?" Deidara purred, trying to placate him.

"To get Wasei back." He growled, pushing past them.

The two glanced at each other, running back in front of him. "Kisame, you know you can't to that. Why don't you just sit down and-"

"No!" Kisame roared, sending the two of them sprawling into the wall. He stormed past, almost reaching the exit when the hand of Pein came down on his shoulder. "Kisame, go back to your room. You're drunk."

Kisame glared at him. "I need Wasei."

Pein tightened his grip, staring at him. "Now."

Kisame glanced back at him, shaking off Pein's hand, continuing out the door. Kakuzu, Deidara, Tobi, and Pein grabbed him at the same time, attempting to wrestle him into one of the holding cells down the hall. Even between the four of him, he was relatively difficult to move, becoming an animal when drunk. "No! Let go of me, now!" Kisame yelled, throwing punches that sorely missed. His head spun and ached, committing mutiny against him. "Shit! Get off!" He barked, trying to pull out Samehada.

Pein pulled Samehada's strap from Kisame's back, and pushed Kisame into the cell, slapping a chakra seal onto the front. The four men looked at him, slightly disheveled.

Pein stared dangerously into the cell. "Don't do this again." He hissed, leaving abruptly, Kakuzu following suit.

The two men looked between the door and Kisame. Kisame slumped against the wall, resting the back of his head against the rock wall. "Go." He muttered.

Deidara and Tobi needed no further instruction, exiting quickly.

He held his head in his hands, feeling a sharp throbbing pain running through. 'Where's my goddamn sake?'

Wasei lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. After a long conversation with Sakura, she managed to convince her of the fact that she was stable enough to sleep in her own home. She rested a hand over her stomach, still accepting the fact that something was growing inside of her. 'Kisame.' She thought, running a hand through her short hair. 'I need you now.. Hurry up and come get me-… Us.'

Three days later, Itachi appeared by the door of the cell, looking down on his broken friend. He could smell the alcohol from here. It was bizarre, seeing his confident, sauntering, strong partner like this. He hated to admit it, but it frightened him. Itachi walked to the front of Kisame's cell, pulling the chakra seal off.

Kisame glanced up, three days growth of beard covering his jaw, looking at him angrily through dark, exhausted eyes. "What? Come to chew me out? Tell me to forget something you know I can't?" He finished a glass of water, dropping it onto the floor of his cell, which was littered with sake bottles and a few scraps of food.

Itachi looked at him emotionlessly. "I've taken the seal off. Get a hold of yourself and go get her in the safety net's allotted time. Two weeks and four days. You obviously can't function or be of any use otherwise."

Itachi picked up Samehada's strap, careful not to touch the handle and dropped it in front of the cell, walking out. Kisame looked from the discarded seal to the sword and blinked, wondering what on earth just happened. He grinned lopsidedly, standing up.

He destroyed the lock, simply ripping it off the door, and stepped out, slinging Samehada over his shoulder. He was coming.

Kisame stepped out into the living room, and the few people sitting glanced at him warily, sitting a bit straighter. He looked at them briefly, continuing into his room, slamming the door shut. Two weeks.. Two weeks and four days. It never seemed so far away.

It was torture to get through, dream after dream plagued him while he slept. Wasei stood there, haunting and wonderful, reaching towards him. He ran to her, over the dark ground, desperate, knowing they had so little time. But when he reached her, she had already faded away, gone. Kisame reached out, trying to grab that vanishing trail of vapor, and he woke gripping nothing but the air. He let his arms drop, and breathed out, knowing it was too good to be true.

Three days left. Kisame had finally stopped drowning himself in sake, trying his best to restrain himself from his age-old addiction. He couldn't stand the thought of Wasei seeing him like this. He downed another glass of water, forcing himself to think about something else.

Two days. Kisame tossed and turned in his bed, dying for a drink, dying for _Wasei_. God he needed her here with him. He turned, staring at her discarded green sweater, debating whether or not to do it, wondering if it would actually help.. He finally dragged himself from the bed, and sheepishly picked up the sweater, laying it beside him, her smell surrounding him. He breathed it in, and felt himself finally begin to fall asleep easily for the first time in days. Her flowery smell permeated him, and he finally released, sleeping soundly.

One day. He paced the base, aggravated, wondering why this day was creeping by so slowly.

Itachi watched him from the table, "Kisame, you'll see her tomorrow. Calm yourself, you look like a fool."

Kisame looked at him, a slight grin on his face, the first outward sign of happiness, or any positive emotion, since Wasei had left. "I _am_ a fool."

Itachi ignored him, going back to sharpening his kunai. "Yes, you are.." He mumbled.

Kisame stood at the entrance, shaved and sober, breathing in before taking off, sprinting at a blistering speed through the forest, absolutely ready to bring Wasei home.

Wasei had been in hell for the past three weeks. She tried to stay out of sight, seeing as the entire village knew about her kidnapping, and somehow the child as well, likely Sakura's doing. Sakura was under the impression that Wasei was in emotional distress and needed coddling, which was exactly what Wasei did _not_ need. Nevertheless, she always put on her smile and went along with it, silently killing herself over and over. Society had completely refuted her, as it had been waiting to for so long, likely since her birth.

So here she found herself again, sitting at the table in her home, trying to keep the two of them warm. After the shock dissipated, the maternal instincts she never knew she had kicked in. She hadn't even been able to care for a plant before.

She drew her grey wool sweater in around her, cold no matter the temperature of her tea or the warmth of her clothes. Whenever it had been this cold in the lair, she had fled to Kisame, hiding inside his cloak to keep it away. She pushed the memories away, knowing that she was only torturing herself. She couldn't help it, they continued to rush to her and bombard her like bullets. Wasei felt a faint smile creep over her face, and she touched her stomach, unable to curb her excitement from exploding out into the open."Wasei?"

Her shoulders slumped, realizing it was Sakura. Again. For the fourth time today. Putting on her prettiest, pregnant-glow face, she answered the door, smiling sweetly. "Oh, hi Sakura. What's up?"

Sakura returned the smile, hugging Wasei gently, as if there was actually volume to her stomach. 'It's been three weeks since conception, Sakura. Nothing's that big yet.' She thought sardonically.

"Hey, I was just thinking I'd stop by again, see if you needed anything.."

Wasei tried to keep a pleasant face. "Nope! Just fine here, thanks."

Sakura nodded, bidding goodbye before leaving.

Wasei sank back into her chair, exhausted from all the attention, all the judging faces when she chose to keep the child, all the aggravating sympathy and-

Someone knocked at the door again, and Wasei's temper flared.

"Sakura, I said I'm-"

She stopped in her tracks, face to face with a big blue chest. Her eyes slowly traveled up. Big, muscled blue arms, well built chest, broad shoulders, and a striking blue face.

"Kisame.." She breathed, pulling him inside, quickly looking around the outside, making sure no one had seen him. Wasei turned around to speak to him, but was cut off by a kiss, throwing her against the door.

Kisame almost crushed her against him, breathing her in. "Wasei." He murmured, saying her name with feeling for the first time since he had watched her walk away with those two ninjas.

"K-Kisame, let go." She pushed the bewildered Kisame away, fearful of him crushing her stomach.

He looked at her, she had never refused him like this before. Kisame touched her face, wondering what was wrong.

Wasei smiled. "No, it's not you." He visibly relaxed, and leaned his shoulder against the door beside her, facing her, crossing his arms. She looked down at her feet, wondering how to tell him. "Kisame, I- um.. I should probably tell you something important, but I.. don't know how you'd feel about it."

He stood in front of her now, dropping his hands. "What do you mean?" He looked intensely at her, and Wasei smiled nervously.

"Well.. Remember that time, right before I left when we.."

Kisame grinned in spite of himself. "How could I forget that?" He mused, looking down at her.

She shifted. "I- How do you feel about kids?"

Kisame froze, staring at her, shocked. Wasei put her hands up in a placating gesture, "I didn't know when I left, they told me when they examined me."

Kisame was still motionless, standing like a statue in the middle of her living room. "Kisame..?"

"You're pregnant?" He finally asked, looking down at her stomach.

Wasei smiled, patting it lightly. "Yeah. It's yours."

Kisame was silent, then laughed once, twice, burst out into roaring laughter, kissing Wasei fully. She kissed him back, feeling his hands on the side of her face, beaming. He let her go, uncharacteristically grinning ear to ear. "I didn't think I could have kids.." He said, looking down at Wasei. She smiled lopsidedly, wondering where this was all coming from. Where had the gruff, haughty Kisame gone off to? She supposed he was somewhere around here, but she also suspected that Kisame had a soft spot for kids, although she doubted he would ever admit to that.

Kisame kissed her, trying to be more careful of her stomach, and Wasei felt the comforting feeling she always did when she was close to him. It felt like being invincible, she knew he would lay down his life for her, and it made her heart flutter.

"You're happy?" Wasei asked, hopefully.

Kisame smirked. "Yes."

Wasei broke out into a childish grin, hugging him as tightly as she could, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her away with him, towards the window. He sat on the sill, releasing her. "You should get the supplies you need now, it's a cold walk back home."

Wasei grinned, dashing quickly into her room, reappearing with a small bag. "I've been ready since I stepped into this damn house, Kisame."

He stood, waiting for her to join him. Wasei hopped onto his back, tightening the straps of her bag. "Let's roll." She said, holding onto Kisame's neck. He hefted her up and burst through the window, flying through the streets, over the rooftops, through the alleyways, reaching the gates. He silently performed a jutsu, making them mere shadows. He blew by, leaping over the top of the gates, a hundred feet in the air. Wasei held on tightly, shutting her eyes to prevent from panicking. Kisame landed smoothly, racing back to the lair at blinding speed.

Wasei felt the heaviness of the night closing in around her, and she slowly drifted off to sleep, clinging to the back of Kisame. He noticed her go limp, and he swung her around, holding her in his arms now, unable to risk her falling off. He ran on, unable to believe that he had actually gotten her back. And a child on top of it all. A child.. He was still in wonder. He was apprehensive, as well. A child in the Akatsuki base? It wasn't exactly the most fitting place to raise a child, but- but he couldn't see it any other way. In all honesty, he felt like a child himself, he was bursting at the seams to eventually hold the baby, knowing that it was a living, breathing part of him… But something else nagged in the back of his mind. When he had been born, he left a trail of blood in his wake. A natural born killer, as he was described. His mother, dead in the delivery room. What if the baby turned out as he did? No. No matter how much a child meant to him, it wasn't worth losing Wasei over. It hurt, but she couldn't keep it.. No, she couldn't keep it. No, no, no.

Wasei woke, feeling warm. She glanced up drowsily, seeing Kisame's sleeping face just above hers. She smiled, remembering where she was, and patted her stomach, resting the side of her head, against his chest. Kisame opened an eye, lazily running a hand through his hair. "Good morning."

Wasei's eyes shot open, and she jumped up, sprinting into the bathroom.

"Wasei?" Kisame asked, sitting up. He heard the sound of her getting sick, and sprung out of bed, instantly standing at the door, trying the doorknob. Locked. "Open up." He demanded, knocking roughly on the door, becoming, dare he say it, afraid. He loved Wasei so much it scared him, she was the only thing that could draw fear and all these other softer feelings out of him. He hated it and relished it at the same time. He tore the knob out of the door, bringing the lock along with it, and slammed the door open, stopping.

Wasei sat against the wall, looking almost translucent. She smiled weakly. "This sucks, huh?" She said, pushing her disheveled hair out of her face.

Kisame knelt in front of her, looking curiously at her. "What happened?"

Wasei coughed, "Morning sickness. I've been having it for a while now.." She froze, becoming sick once again in the toilet. Kisame rubbed her back, flushing it after she had finished. Wasei's body was racked with shivers, her teeth chattered. He began to feel fear creeping in again.

"It shouldn't normally be this violent." He said, sitting her down against him.

Wasei half smiled. "Well, this isn't a normal child, is it?"

Kisame's face fell, and he knew she was right. This was just about the most abnormal child one could come across. A young girl, barely an adult, and a shark man. He knew _exactly _how this would end for her. And the child. He felt his heart drop, his old fears rushing back to him. He had heard of his mother having a similar caliber of sickness when pregnant with him, and knew he had been right. The child would be _exactly _like him. He had killed his mother, and this child would likely do the same. No, he couldn't lose her again. But it would destroy her to lose the child now, after all she had been through. Kisame clenched his fists, furious at his inability to make a decision, angry that he couldn't keep the last one he had made.

"Kisame?" Wasei asked, lightly touching his tense arm.

He looked down, realizing how he must appear. "I- Wasei, I don't think you should keep the child."

She gawked at him. "What did you say?"

Kisame's face didn't change. "You heard what I said."

She staggered to her feet, and Kisame rose, steadying her. Wasei looked at him, and tried to push away, caught once again by Kisame. "No. I wont... I'm not giving it up." She said strongly.

Kisame grabbed her by the shoulders. "Wake up, Wasei! I killed my mother on the way out, and this thing, our own _child_, is going to destroy you too."

Wasei looked at him fearfully, wide eyed. "I-"

"I know how this is, but it's just the way it needs to be."

Wasei clapped hands over her ears, unable to listen anymore. "No- no no no!" She cried, trying to pull away.

Kisame shook her. "Wasei! Don't shut down on me. Be reasonable. How could we raise a child here? How could we?"

She shook her head, shutting her eyes.

"Wasei, it will come out exactly like _me_. A monster. I was the most miserable being on earth before you. It will be shunted by the rest of the world, could you put someone through that?"

"You are _not_ a monster." She hissed.

"Yes I _am_, Wasei!"

She stared up at him, wide-eyed. "That's not true. I know you, and you are _not_."

Kisame shook his head. "You haven't seen anything. Wasei, you _can't keep the child!_"

Wasei grit her teeth, falling into him. "I love it, though." She whispered.

Kisame hugged her tightly. "And it will kill you in return."

Wasei looked up at him, tight jawed. "Let's just wait a little longer, Kisame. Please.. Maybe it will work out."

He growled, running a hand over his face. "Four months. That's the longest we can wait before you'll begin to- to break down."

Wasei smiled, kissing his cheek. "Thanks."

Kisame watched her go into the bedroom, and wondered if this would be the last year he spent with her.

It was amazing how four months seemed like a blur. Of course, Pein wasn't thrilled with the fact that Kisame had gone after Wasei, and even less with the fact that she was pregnant, but he said nothing, retreating to his office for most of his days. Tobi, on the other hand, was beside himself, constantly reassuring that he was going to be the child's older brother. Deidara and the rest of the group were less enthusiastic about the child, indifferent to the fact. Itachi was a sort of silent keeper to Wasei, always just within reach for small things, things that would have developed into problems without him there, such as a small slip, or a sudden onslaught of sickness, as they had not completely dissipated yet, and she began to appreciate him more and more, especially when Kisame had to tear himself away to leave for a mission. She sat on the couch, thinking. Itachi appeared and sat beside her, staring out the window with her.

"Itachi, thank you for the help."

He was emotionless, watching the birds fly through the trees. "It's not a problem. Kisame would relapse back into his old self without you, and after seeing it again, we think it would be best to keep him the way he is."

Wasei turned to him. "What do you mean?"

Itachi breathed slowly, taking in the light. "It's amazing how much he's changed. How much _you've _changed him. Kisame is naturally bloodthirsty, but he's changed, and his thirst seems to have been satiated by you. For blood and alcohol. You may not know, but he was previously an alcoholic. You've changed that, too."

Wasei blinked, resting a hand on her growing stomach. "He was an alcoholic?"

Itachi nodded. "Dangerously so. There were times when we thought we had lost him."

Wasei was in complete disbelief. "He was really like that?"

"Miserable." Itachi droned, still blank.

"When I was gone?"

"Completely unstable. We had to lock him in the holding cell."

Wasei was shocked. "_What_? He- _why_?"

"After you left, he drank himself sick, and become violent."

Wasei felt a tug on her heart, knowing that was her doing.

"We had to sustain him in the cell, he was a danger to everyone around him."

"I had no idea.."

Itachi finally looked at her, "Wasei, you don't realize the value you hold to him. Don't do anything reckless by means of keeping the child. He would keep you over the child, given the choice."

Wasei smiled sadly, nodding. "I know."

Itachi looked at her one more time before leaving her to her thoughts.

She stood awkwardly, holding a hand under her stomach. Compared to her height and weight, it was a medium bulge, although in comparison to a normal sized woman, it was on the smaller side. She shuffled through the hall, sitting heavily at the piano. "Let's see if you like Mozart." She whispered to her stomach, beginning to play.

After a while the violent illness in the morning began to face away, and Wasei seemed to emanate a healthy glow, which did nothing but please Kisame. Maybe he had been wrong after all.. No sooner had he returned from his mission did Wasei run up to him, grabbing his hand, eyes shining. "Kisame! Feel this!"

He looked at her oddly, and hesitantly rested a hand on her taught stomach, and his eyebrows shot up, feeling a miniature foot kick his hand. It was real.. He knew that _something_ was growing inside of her, but it had never seemed.. _real_, to him. That one kick brought everything crashing into him, and he was frozen, numb.

Wasei grinned proudly, feeling the kick too. "Cool, huh?"

Kisame stared at her, suddenly breaking out into laughter. He ran a hand through his hair. "Wasei, you're like a child with a new toy." He chuckled, tousling her hair.

She laughed, pushing at his hand. "Well, that's the jist of it." She said.

He kissed her brow, heading into their room. "I have a few things to take care of."

Wasei nodded. "I'm going for a walk."

He frowned. "That's not a very bright idea, Wasei. It's been six months, I- "

She waved a hand at him. "I'll be _fine_, Kisame. I wont go too far, just to the lake and back."

He hesitated, then disappeared into the room.

Wasei walked casually along the path, listening to the sounds that surrounded her, hands resting under her stomach, hoping to feel another movement. She grinned to herself, never getting over the thrill. Wasei's smile fell flat, knowing that her time with the child was up.. Although the morning sickness had subsided, the baby was unnaturally strong, and was beginning to form bruises on her pale stomach. It was going to be like it's father, which meant that she could no longer keep the child. Her breath caught in her throat at the thought of having to give it up. The upsetting part was that the idea of keeping it was completely hopeless. There was no possible way to win. She had managed to convince Kisame to add another two months onto the time, which had been nearly impossible. Her time had completely run out. Either beg an unmoving Kisame to let her keep it, or run, leaving behind everything she had left and ultimately die in the end in the birthing process. She was almost certain it was going to be a boy..

"Well well."

She froze, turning slowly, wondering if she was imagining things. Gona stalked towards her, looking almost unchanged since she'd last seen him- what, six months ago? Same tousled black hair, light blue eyes, arrogant, sauntering canter to him, it really was Gona.

Wasei stepped back, protectively holding her stomach. "I- What are you doing here?"

He grinned, still walking towards her. "Just passing through, when I saw a little ghost walking by. Not much of a ninja, huh? Well, I guess I gathered that from the last time I saw you."

Wasei growled, feeling hot anger beginning to rise. "Thanks, Gona, you're a charmer."

He smiled, never getting over her fiery tendencies. "And look at you! You're glowing." He exclaimed with false enthusiasm, and stood in front of her, smirking. Wasei found herself up against a boulder, and she pressed herself against it, very much regretting this walk.

"You need to terrorize pregnant women to get your kicks, Gona?" She hissed, trying to push him away.

His smile faltered, and he grabbed her wrists, slamming them into the rock behind her. "I told you he was a monster, Wasei, but you didn't listen. Don't you see? Once he gets an heir from you, you're as good as nothing to him. You're so blind!"

Wasei laughed once, despite the numbing fear that was taking over her. "_You're _blind, Gona. We're _happy_. He and I have a _relationship_. What do you have, an obsession? Leave me alone and _move on_. We never _had_ anything, Gona, and never will, so go."

He looked at her intently. "I have _you_."

Wasei's eyes widened, feeling him kissing her. She froze, feeling sick. "N-" He silenced her, still gripping her wrists, knowing that she would run at first chance. His heart felt whole for once, and he smiled genuinely in spite of his arrogant and hard exterior. Sure, there had been other women since, but none that _mattered_ like Wasei mattered. He moved in closer, feeling something round pressing against his lower stomach. Gona pulled away, leaving Wasei gasping for air, seeing her stomach in all it's glory.

"Gona, stop! Let go, now." She growled, trying to struggle free. Gona shook his head, eyes never leaving her stomach. "Such a shame. Had you run with me, you wouldn't be in this position right now."

Wasei shook her head. "It's worth it. I wouldn't change a thing.. Not one thing. Why are you here, Gona, what do you want from me _now_?"

He sighed, running a finger down Wasei's cheek, making her shudder. "You. I came back for _just _you, but I guess I could take the two of you along with me.. Alive or dead, that's up to you. But if I can't have you, no one can."

She halted, looking him in the eye, terrified. "No.. Please, Gona, don't do this."

He stepped back, revealing a pair of double swords clasped to his belt. "Tell me, Wasei. Can you stand up to me the way your husband could? Oh, wait, he's _not_ your husband, is he? Doesn't have the spine to lay down the law and _commit_, like _I _could have?"

Wasei glared at him. "It's not our style, marriage wasn't convenient, not in our interests-"

Gona advanced on her, beginning to draw the swords. "His interests or _yours_? Think now, there's a big difference."

Wasei backed around Gona, stepping out towards the forest. "_Both_ of ours." She reached into her pants pocket, feeling the familiar outline of her knife. She supposed now would be a wonderful time to start using it. Gona sneered, breaking into a run towards her, completely unsheathing his two short swords. "Fine then, I guess I'll just have to be the last man you ever kiss. At least I'll have _that_ much!"

He sprinted towards her, raising the swords to fighting height, and he glared at Wasei, relishing the fear in her eyes and the jerkiness of her movements. He felt the tailed beast inside him surge, and he just barely contained it. When he killed her, he wanted it to be just Wasei and him, alone. If he could just have one raw moment with her, it would satisfy him. Even if it was her final moments. It pained him to think of it, but it seemed like the only way to make a lasting impression on her, and to satiate the beast within him.

Wasei stepped back, whipping the knife from her pocket, pointing it at him. "Don't!" She cried, holding it in both hands.

Gona smirked, pushing her hands down. Wasei fell back a step, seeing his knives begin to rise. "No!" In a last ditch effort, she slashed her knife back up and through the air, tearing open part of Gona's grizzly, stubbled cheek. He faltered, seeing the blood beginning to ooze out of his cheek with startling speed. He stared at her, unable to believe what had just happened. Wasei narrowed her eyes, holding her knife like a dagger.

"Serves you right, arrogant bastard." She hissed.

Kisame stepped out of the shower, pulling a pair of pants over himself when he heard the most faint, far off scream. He stopped short, forgetting everything around him. His blood ran cold, recognizing that voice anywhere. 'Wasei-'

He snatched a shirt from the table, sprinting out of the room and through the entrance, strapping on Samehada. He couldn't seem to run fast enough, not fast enough, not fast enough. He pushed himself to go faster, and he felt a flash of agony as his body responded, moving faster than he had thought possible.

'God Wasei please no please no don't leave me now I-'

He sprinted into a clearing, seeing a boulder, a river. This was where Wasei was headed, he knew for sure. Kisame's heart dropped out as he smelled blood. It was nauseating. Everywhere, the scent was everywhere. Blood. _Her_ blood. It originated from the boulder in metallic, hard waves.

"No.." He flashed around the side of the boulder, already knowing what was waiting. He stopped and balled his fists, trying to restrain his emotions. Wasei lay limp against the rock, dead, her knife scattered a few feet away. He couldn't see her face.

"God- damn it!" Kisame roared, throwing the boulder across the clearing, shaking the ground as it landed. Wasei fell limply to the ground, completely motionless from head to toe. "Wasei!" He cried out, falling to his knees beside her. Kisame reached out to touch her arm. Cold. He touched her chest, seeing a red flower of blood over her light green sweater. Her face looked almost peaceful. Pallid and shadowed, but peaceful. He clenched his jaw, holding himself together. He touched her stomach gingerly, and felt no pulse from within. It was still.

"Fuck!" He cried out, holding his forehead in his hands.

"It sucks, doesn't it?"

Kisame glanced up, seeing Gona's shadowy face watching the scene, apathetic. He rose slowly, seething. "You son of a bitch. What the hell did you do?"

Gona laughed once. "What do you think? I figured you'd want to know the pain that _I've_ suffered through for five months, knowing that the girl I loved was banging some other guy. No, excuse me, some other _thing_. She's better off anyways, wasn't much of a woman, wasn't much of a ninja either. Just some girl, floating from place to place, huh?"

Kisame grabbed Samehada. "I'll kill you. I'll tear you limb from limb! You sick bastard!" He sprinted forward, punching Gona squarely in the jaw, sending him flying back a good ten feet. "She had a _child_," Kisame growled. "You're _sick_."

Gona smiled, picking himself up. "Maybe, but now she's just as much mine as yours."

Kisame's shoulders heaved, and he realized he was crying, something he hadn't done in- he couldn't remember the last time. "You're _wrong_. All you've done is kill an innocent girl and a child. And for what? NOTHING!" He swung Samehada, nicking the side of Gona's face, adding to the previous wound. Kisame spotted it and grinned humorlously through his tears. "Did Wasei do that?"

Gona smirked, touching the ragged wound in his cheek. "Didn't go down without a fight."

Kisame's face contorted into rage. "You bet she didn't, you ugly bastard." He swung the sword again, unable to hit Gona before he jumped to the side, dodging Kisame. They stood for a moment, a tense tableau forming. Gona closed his eyes, feeling the beast rise up from within him.

'_Just let me out, Gona, I'll help you beat this man.'_

Gona smiled inwardly. 'You will?'

'_Oh, yes. Of course. I owe you a favor for letting me live inside you, don't I?'_

'Yeah, I guess you do. All right then.'

Gona breathed in deeply, and finally gave him control, releasing an age-old seal within himself, letting the beast free and into the open.

Kisame jumped back, seeing Gona transform into a human-tiger medley. Four tails sprouted from him, and the thing before him crouched, grinning wildly. "Come on, then."

Kisame smirked furiously. "And you call me a monster."

Kisame flicked the bandages off Samehada, sending it swinging around to Gona's shoulder. He rolled, sending a wall of fire towards Kisame. Kisame grinned, throwing the water from the lake into a wave, easily crushing the flaming sheet. Gona sneered back, "Guess this'll be just like last time, eh?"

Kisame shook his head. "No. This time I'm going to kill you." He dashed forward, snatching the fleeing Gona, sinking Samehada into the man's stomach. Gona howled, and the demon in him screeched, tearing desperately at it's ties to Gona's body . Kisame laughed wildly, feeling the powerhouse of chakra flowing into Samehada's endless storage. Kisame's insane laughter rolled throught the clearing, bouncing in and out of the trees, rebounding into the two men.

Gona fell limply to the ground, breathing shallowly. Kisame pulled his sword back, wanting to finally kill him with his bare hands. He knelt beside Gona's gasping figure, rolling him flat onto his back. Kisame grinned malevolently, feeling himself begin to regress back to his previous state, the insatiable want for blood coming back to him with each pulse in his veins.

"I really loved her, you know.." Gona muttered, gasping for breath, wincing at the jagged hole in his stomach. "I suppose I did it because I loved her too much."

Kisame grit his teeth. "Don't lie to me. You did it for revenge, and now look what that's gotten you! Two people dead, and a third on it's way!"

Gona smiled softly, laughing once. "You want to know what she said to me before she died? She regretted everything. She'd rather have stayed content in her village-"

"That's a lie-"

"Screw around with that Kiba boy, the one she _ran_ to when they came to get her-"

"She would never-"

"She regretted _everything_, Kisame. Who kidnapped her and _forced_ her to love him? Who came on to her violently? Who knocked her up and guilted her into keeping it?"

Kisame roared, punching Gona across the face. "That's not what Wasei said, and you know it!"

"Do I?" Gona mused sardonically, grinning through his agony.

Kisame felt his eyes begin to water. "Go to hell." He snapped Gona's neck efficiently, and dropped him, dead, to the ground.

Kisame stood, coming to a halt beside Wasei's body, tears now coursing down his face in clear rivers. "Damn it, kid, why'd you have to go?" He half-expected her t answer him. "Wasei, please, I need you now."

Wasei's wavy, pure hair blew lightly in the breeze, her serene face completely expressionless. She was beautiful. And now she was gone. Kisame felt an uncontrollable surge of anger. "WASEI!" He cried out, punching a crater into the ground beside her. He breathed heavily, wanting so badly for that to rouse her from what he couldn't believe was anything but sleep.

"Kisame, it's time to go." Itachi appeared, and pulled him up by his shoulder.

Kisame shook his hand off, staring down at Wasei. Gona had already taken her. He wouldn't let the flies finish her off. "We need to bury her." He said quietly.

Itachi nodded, picking Wasei's body off of the ground, careful not to break her. Kisame looked at them briefly, then led the way, finding the place on the river bank where she had first learned to swim. "Here." He said emotionlessly, unable to feel anything at the moment.

Itachi stepped in front of Kisame, handing him her body. Breathing in, Itachi pushed out, creating a square cut out in the earth, a perfect fit. Kisame stepped into the hole, setting Wasei down lightly, kissing her brow. "See you, kiddo." He murmured, looking at her one last time.

Itachi waited patiently, feeling a tug at his own heart. He remained stone faced, strong, but inwardly he was still crying.

Kisame jumped out of the grave, walking back towards the lair, leaving Itachi to roll the earth over her. Itachi walked into step beside him, silent. "We have to go back now." He said, increasing their pace.

Kisame nodded absentmindedly, following Itachi. He didn't want to think anymore, it hurt too much. All he could see in his thoughts was Wasei. That pale-moon, sleeping Wasei.

Kisame sat in his empty room, knowing that there really was no way to get her back now. She was gone for good. She was dead, and he had lost everything. Everything. Kisame took another swig of the sake, dropping the empty bottle onto the floor. He didn't want to think right now, he didn't want to feel right now, all he wanted was to fade away. Just fade away. 'Wasei..' His mind moaned, wanting to hold her. It was another night alone. He had been alone for his entire life, but had never realized how much it hurt until it was all lost. It had been two days, and after burning out completely, he confined himself to his room. Empty bottles lay strewn across the floor, and a shadow resided over the bottom half of his face, his eyes were dark with exhaustion and malnourishment. He had heard that Deidara was dead, but he couldn't bring himself to leave his room. It just- didn't seem as important to him. He popped open another bottle, draining a third of it. He vaguely heard a knock. "Come in." He slurred, trying to sit up, leaning against the headboard.

Itachi looked at him with disgust and pity, knowing that Kisame was lost completely to the world. "Kisame, what's wrong with you?" He asked harshly, standing at the door.

Kisame smiled darkly, laughing once. He drained another third of the bottle, setting it harshly onto the bed-side table. He seemed to be either lost in thought, or completely drunk. Itachi thought maybe both.

"I guess she was just too good to last, huh? Too good to last.." Kisame finally spoke.

Itachi thought for a moment, deciding whether or not it was a good idea. He looked up at him with sharingan eyes. "Not just yet."

Kisame felt the world fade around him, staring into the spinning eyes, and he cursed, falling to the ground.

"Itachi, I'll-!" He cried, standing up, noticing the intoxication had vanished, and the emotions he was trying to douse in alcohol rushed back into him, making him nearly keel over. Overpowering grief took him for a spin, and he tottered on his feet. He clenched his jaw, steeling himself. He simply couldn't cry anymore. Slowly, the feelings ebbed away, leaving Kisame to himself. He looked around, seeing a red and black forest around him. "Itachi?" He called.

"Kisame."

He whirled around, and his knees almost buckled from the shock. "Wasei.."

Wasei stood in front of him, contrasting brightly with the dark background, a perfect white apparition before him. Her stomach was back to it's flat state, and a thin white dress hung around her loosely. "Oh Kisame.. You're a mess."

He looked down at himself, realizing his maddened state was apparent. He scratched his face, feeling the thick stubble. He laughed bitterly. "It's for you, kid."

She ran a hand up his arm, relieved to feel him one more time. Kisame breathed out, seeing her stomach. "The child-?"

"Gone.. He's gone. I-" Wasei stopped, and smiled sadly, stepping into him, hugging him tightly. "Itachi can't hold this jutsu for long, Kisame. Don't do this to yourself, please.. Don't cry because I'm gone, be glad because _we_ _happened_."

Kisame looked down at her, bewildered. "Wasei.. You- you can't leave. I've just gotten you back."

She reached up and kissed him lightly, and Kisame saw her color begin to fade. "I'm sorry, Kisame, but I have to go."

"No!" He bellowed, reaching for her, and found his arm passing through the previously solid state of her.

Wasei smiled. "Please, don't hate yourself Kisame. Go out and do what you do best, which is, lets face it," She laughed lightly. "Killing people."

Kisame grinned weakly. "I suppose so."

"And for goodness sakes, shave that beard. You look like a madman."

"I am a madman." He said sadly, watching her fade.

She turned away, then paused, seeming to have forgotten something. Whirling around, she remembered. "And Kisame? I lov-" A phantasm of light cut her off.

She was gone.

Kisame woke feeling drying tears on his eyes. He rubbed his mouth, tasting the familiar burn of alcohol.

Itachi was sitting on the bed, resting his eyes. "What did she say?"

Kisame looked at him. "I- she told me to go back. Go back to the same bloodlust as before."

"Will you?"

Kisame thought for a moment. "Yes."

Kisame stood in front of Pein, listening to his orders. "Go and take the kyubi, kill anyone who stands in your way, understood?"

Kisame grinned. "My pleasure."

He headed out immediately, ready to destroy someone. It had taken a month, but he had finally become his old self. The same dangerous, vicious man as before. It was difficult, for the first week he couldn't look at the blood, he saw Wasei's body in every drop. He had seen Wasei's body in _everything_. However, that didn't stop him from continuing to kill. After a while, the sickness of blood began to fade, and he found himself capable , maybe even more so, of destroying just like before. Wasei's words rang true. Just the other day he had taken apart three Earth Ninjas. He was more than ready to kill his share Fire Ninja. He had convinced himself that this was true, but.. It was never gratifying. It was never- he never felt _good_ like he had before. He ran through the forest, toting Samehada on his shoulder. His thoughts often rested on Wasei, but her words had always drifted back to him when they did, 'Be glad because _we happened_….'

He smiled faintly. Yes, he would do this for her. He ran across the lake, seeing a man in a green jumpsuit standing at the opposite side. "I'm Maighto Guy, and I'm about to kick your ass!"

Kisame laughed once, knowing from his gut that this would be an exciting battle.

He lay against the rock, a gaping wound in his side. His breath came in deep, slow pants, a puddle of his own blood surrounding him. "Damn.." He muttered, feeling his heart starting to give out. He laid back on the rock, thinking of the past. Of Wasei. He smiled, thinking of their one night where time seemed to stop and they had danced perfectly. The sunlight beamed down on him, and he felt a tear pool in his eye. It was finally over. He didn't know how much longer he could have lasted like this. Pretending he was ok. Pretending he was his old self, when he knew that it had died with Wasei. He had truly become a monster, and he would die like one.

He felt gossamer hands trail over his face, and he creaked his eyes open, seeing Wasei's apparition before him. He smiled weakly. "I figured you'd come around."

Wasei looked down at him in the blood, crying. "I- I told you to take care of yourself. You- you idiot!"

Kisame reached to touch her, feeling his hand pass through. "You could call me that."

She bit her lip, kneeling beside him. "Please. Get up, Kisame. Heal yourself, I know you can."

He shook his head sadly. "I wont. I don't want to do this anymore, Wasei."

She clenched her teeth, trying to hold him, and cried harder when her hands went through him. "No! You cant do this! Get up! Get _up_!"

He smiled, turning his face back to the sunlight, resting the back of his head against the rock. "Wasei…" He closed eyes, smiling.

Wasei cried out, climbing onto him, kneeling in his lap. "Kisame.. Kisame!" She screamed, trying desperately to shake him. "Kisame!"

He breathed in one more time, and became motionless, falling limp against the rock.

Wasei held her face in her hands, sitting through his body. So this was how Kisame had felt. This is how it was, to lose someone you cared so much for. She inhaled shakily, trying again and again to hold his body, but in vain. She was completely useless in this world. But how useful had she been when she wasn't- well, whatever she was now? For goodness sake, she could even keep the person she loved alive! After she had died, she had woken up in the middle of the forest, completely insane. After a few days, she realized that she was some sort of- _thing_, an apparition of some sort, or a, dare she say it, _ghost_. It had taken a few more to realize that she was almost completely unable to interact with the surrounding people. Surroundings, yes, but no living person. She just- passed through them, like mist. After her chilling realization, she had wandered, a spectral image, from place to place, just- _doing_. It was bizarre.

When Itachi had brought her, somehow, into his sharingan world, she had almost died with excitement. Seeing Kisame again, it was too good to be true. After she had left, she broke down for days, laying in the middle of the forest after crying herself out. She had just lain there.

She had watched the battle from what had seemed like a wall of air, but unable to help in any way. She had been trapped, invisible, non-existent. She watched his body fly and hit the rock, and had watched the growing red puddle around him, and had watched her old sensei walk away, knowing the job was done. She had seen everything, and was unable to even be _heard_. She didn't know exactly what had happened, she had been so hysterical she had just- _moved_ the wall, some sort of tear had formed and suddenly she was standing in front of her dying Kisame. And now he was dead, thanks to her and her stupid, weak body. If she had just been stronger, just been more-

"Damn it!" She yelled, hitting the rock harshly, trembling.

"You'll break a knuckle that way." Two arms wrapped around the back of her, pulling her up, and Wasei opened her eyes, seeing the heartbreakingly familiar arms around her small body. She turned and stepped back, seeing Kisame standing before her, grinning as he had always done. "Hey kiddo."

Wasei broke down, gripping him tightly, shaking like a leaf. "Kisame, you big, dumb-"

He kissed her fully, pulling her off the ground, and Wasei melted, feeling the tears coming on faster. She clung desperately to him, afraid that if she were to let go he would disappear. He pulled back, setting her down, brushing a stray hair off her face. "I wouldn't have done it any other way."

Wasei looked up at him, smiling pathetically. "Fine then. Can we go?"

Kisame took her hand, "Where to?"

Wasei shrugged, feeling the tears stopping. "I dunno. I've just sort of been walking around aimlessly for a while."

Kisame laughed, "Then let's go."

Wasei grinned, squeezing his hand. Kisame smirked, walking forward with Wasei, and she fell into step beside him.

Itachi ran through the forest, looking for signs of his partner. He had been gone for hours now, and Pein was starting to get agitated. He stopped, finding him against the rock. Itachi's face didn't falter, and he knelt to Kisame's side, checking his pulse unnecessarily. He stepped back, looking down at Kisame's smiling face and felt a faint one creep across his own. She had found him. She had actually found him. He hated happy endings, but he supposed this one wasn't too happy, in reality.

Itachi pulled the forehead protector from Kisame's brow, letting his hair fall to the side and left him in the drying red puddle, leaving with a bittersweet feeling for his best friend.

'Kisame, you're a fool. Come back and find me.' He continued on, knowing that Kisame could hear him.

Epilogue

Wasei sat contentedly in Kisame's lap, watching the forest around them grow, thrive, completely unaware of them. He ran a hand through her hair absentmindedly. They had been like this for hours, apparitions, walking the forest aimlessly, together. It was strange, _very _strange, but- wonderful. It was amazing, for the first time in his life, he could watch travelers and they would remain impassive, immune to him. No gawking, no tensing of muscles, no threats. He was just- _being_. With Wasei at his side. She had never let go of his hand. Even know, she rested a hand on his leg, holding it loosely. Kisame shook his head, smiling slightly. "Wasei, I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to hold me here."

She just seemed to notice, and she laughed once, smiling guitily. "I- ahaha, sorry. Just happy you're here."

Kisame's smile turned softer. "Likewise."

Wasei played with her hands briefly. "I missed you, you know. I tried to find you after I got- well, _here_, whatever this is, but I could never get to the hideout, I would wind up lost. When I heard you fighting, well, you can imagine my surprise."

"It was- difficult. The first few weeks. I don't think I've ever felt more like shit. Sorry I died on you, kid."

Wasei laughed, turning to him. "Are you kidding? I mean, yes, I'm sorry you had to die, but- Kisame, you're _here_. I mean- what more could you have given me?"

He was silent for a moment. "A child."

Wasei's smile fell. "I-.. that's in the past. Yes, I was upset when I found myself without him, but there's nothing we can change about that. We'll just do whatever it is people like us do."

Kisame breathed out, pulling her in closer. "That sounds like a plan to me." He hoisted her to sit on his leg. "So. We're dead and bored. What to do?"

Wasei rested her head against his shoulder. "Travel? Maybe around the world? We never have to eat or drink or anything like that, I haven't gotten tired- _ever_, so.. Why not explore?"

Kisame thought for a moment. "Travel.. That's an idea."

"I'd go for it." Wasei looked up at him, waiting for an answer.

"Alright. Let's leave the continent."

Wasei grinned, kissing him lightly. "Excellent. Right now?"

Kisame smirked, eyes shining. "_Or_ we could finish what we had started a while back."

Wasei looked at him oddly. "What are you talking about?"

He whisked her in, kissing her fully, and Wasei's color deepened. "O- Oh, you mean _that? Before I left?"_

_Kisame smiled broadly, pulling her down to the forest floor with him. "That's exactly what I mean."_

_Wasei looked up at him, pink-cheeked. "I guess we missed out on those six months, huh?"_

_He kissed her, running a hand down her face, relieved she wouldn't dissipate like she had in his dreams. "We sure did."Wasei smiled. "Don't worry, Kisame. 'In time'."_


End file.
